485APOS 1 lsopport485a.htm LS OPPORTUNITY FUND 485A FILING

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2010

Securities Act File No. 33-151672

Investment Company Act File No. 811-22208                     

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

___________________

 

FORM N-1A

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

x

 

 

Pre-Effective Amendment No.

[

]

 

Post-Effective Amendment No. 13

x

and/or

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

x

 

 

Amendment No. 14

x

VALUED ADVISERS TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code)

 

Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (317) 917-7000

 

Capitol Services, Inc.

615 S. Dupont Hwy., Dover, Delaware 19901

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

With Copies to:John H. Lively

The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc.

A member firm of The 1940 Act Law Group

2041 W. 141st Terrace, Suite 119

Leawood, KS 66224

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

o immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b);

o on __(date) pursuant to paragraph (b);

o 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1);

o on ____ (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1);

x 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2); or

o on ____ (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485.

 

If appropriate, check the following box:

 

o This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

 


VALUED ADVISERS TRUST

 

CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

This registration statement consists of the following papers and documents:

 

Cover Sheet

 

Contents of Registration Statement

 

LS Opportunity Fund

 

- Part A – Prospectus

 

- Part B – Statement of Additional Information

 

Part C – Other Information and Signature Page

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit

 


 

 

VALUED ADVISERS TRUST

 

Long Short Advisors, LLC

LS Opportunity Fund

 

PROSPECTUS

 

NASDAQ Symbol: LSOFX

 

_______ __, 2010

 

 

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PAGE NO.

 

SUMMARY SECTION

1

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S PRINCIPAL

STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS

5

 

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

12

 

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

13

 

HOW TO BUY SHARES

14

 

HOW TO REDEEM SHARES

17

 

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES

20

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

22

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

BACK COVER

 

 


SUMMARY SECTION

 

Investment Objective

 

LS Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in both long and short positions within a portfolio consisting of primarily publicly-traded common stock, with less risk than that of the stock market in general.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

 

 

 

Shareholder Fees:

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 

Redemption Fee (as a percentage of

amount redeemed within 60 days of purchase)

 

2.00%

Annual Fund Operating Expenses:

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Management Fees

1.75%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

0.00%

Other Expenses

1.33%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

0.02%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

3.10%

Expenses Waived and/or Reimbursed1

0.60%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements

2.50%

 

 

1.

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements reflect that, as of the date of this Prospectus, the Adviser has contractually agreed to waive or limit its fees and to assume other expenses of the Fund until March 31, 2013, so that the ratio of total annual operating expenses does not exceed 2.505%. This contractual arrangement may only be terminated by mutual consent of the Adviser and the Fund, and it will automatically terminate upon termination of the investment advisory agreement between the Fund and the Adviser. This operating expense limitation does not apply to: (i) interest, (ii) taxes, (iii) brokerage commissions, (iv) other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, (v) other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, (vi) dividend expense on short sales, and (vii) expenses that the Fund has incurred but did not actually pay because of an expense offset arrangement, if applicable, incurred by the Fund in any fiscal year. The operating expense limitation also excludes any “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” as that term is described above. The Adviser may be entitled to the reimbursement of any fees waived or expenses reimbursed pursuant to the agreement, provided overall expenses fall below the limitations set forth above. The Adviser may recoup the sum of all fees previously waived or expenses reimbursed during any of the previous three (3) years, less any reimbursement previously paid, provided total expenses do not exceed the limitation set forth above.

 

 

Expense Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

 

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 YEAR 3 YEARS
$263  $806


                

 Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example above, affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund will employ a research-driven, bottom-up stock selection process on both the long and short side whereby investment decisions are based upon extensive analysis of the business and financial fundamentals concerning particular companies and their industries, leading to an assessment of the companies’ investment value. The Fund seeks to capitalize on significant differences between the current market price of a company’s stock and its current or expected future investment value. The Fund’s approach is designed to achieve capital growth during periods of rising or stable stock prices and capital preservation during periods of declining stock prices.

 

On the long side, the Fund invests primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies whose fundamentals, combined with attractive valuations, indicate significant upside opportunity relative to downside risk. On the short side, the Fund takes positions primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies with weak or deteriorating fundamentals, which, combined with unattractive valuations, indicate significant downside risk. The Fund will be managed with a long-term orientation. The objective on the long side of the portfolio is to generally hold core positions for more than one year. On the short side of the portfolio, holding periods are generally expected to be less than a year.

 

In addition, the Fund plans to use short positions in a “pair-traded” format to exploit valuation anomalies and dampen portfolio volatility. The Fund intends to use a traditional “long/short” hedging strategy to reduce portfolio volatility and isolate stock selection as the primary driver of returns.

 

The Fund may reduce or eliminate a position if the position has reached a fair determinant of value, has been revalued as new research uncovers challenges to assumptions underlying the investment case, or through the displacement in the portfolio by a better idea.


 

Principal Risks

 

Any of the following situations could cause the Fund to lose money or underperform in comparison to its peer group or the broader stock market:

 

Stock Market Risk: Movements in the stock market may affect the specific securities held by the Fund on a daily basis.

 

Stock Selection Risk: The stocks in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in value or not increase in value when the stock market in general is increasing or decreasing in value and you could lose money.

 

Management Risk: Fund management's skill in choosing appropriate investments will play a large part in determining whether the Fund is able to achieve its investment objective. To the extent appropriate investments are not chosen, the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money.

 

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is non-diversified and may invest a greater portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer, or a smaller group of issuers, than a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more sensitive to economic, business, political or other changes affecting the prices of such issuers' securities.

Short Sales Risk: The Fund may make short sales, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security’s price will decline. Short sales may involve substantial risk and leverage. Short sales expose the fund to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as “covering” the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund.

Foreign Securities Risk: There may be less information about foreign companies in the form of reports and ratings than about U.S. issuers. Foreign issuers may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Foreign markets may not be as developed or efficient as those in the United States, and there is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and listed issuers than in the United States.

 

Master Limited Partner (MLP) Risk: MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns. Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the use of MLPs could enhance or harm the overall performance of the Fund.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Risk: Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of underlying properties owned by the REITs. Mortgage REITs will be subject to credit risk, interest rate risk and prepayment risk with respect to the loans made. Credit risk is the risk that the borrower will be unable or unwilling to make interest and principal payments on the loan when they are due. Interest rate risk is the risk that a change in the prevailing interest rate will cause the value of the loan to fall. Prepayment risk is the risk that the mortgages underlying mortgage REITs may be paid off early, which makes it difficult to determine their actual maturity and, therefore, to calculate how they will respond to changes in interest rates. The REIT may reinvest prepaid amounts at lower rates.


 

Investment Company Securities Risk: The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in mutual funds, Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)s, and other investment companies. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds.

 

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit at a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Performance

 

The Fund has not yet commenced operations and therefore, does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund’s performance data will be available by calling [__________]. Information relating to the investment performance of the Independent Capital Asset Partners, LLC, the sub-advisor to the Fund, is included in the Appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Portfolio Management

 

Investment Advisor – Long Short Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”) is the investment manager of the Fund.       

 

Investment Sub-Advisor – Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC (the “Sub-Advisor”) is the sub-advisor of the Fund.

 

Portfolio Manager – Jim Hillary, Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception on May ___, 2010. Mr. Hillary is also Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the Sub-Advisor since 2004. From 1997-2004, Mr. Hillary was a senior analyst, portfolio manager and partner at Marsico Capital Management (MCM).  Between February 2000 and January 2002, Mr. Hillary was the portfolio manager of the 21st Century Fund, an all-cap growth fund.  Between February 1, 2002 and March 31, 2004 Mr. Hillary was the Co-Manager of all the large-cap products at MCM.  Prior to MCM, Mr. Hillary was a partner at the investment firm W.H. Reaves & Co., in Jersey City, NJ where he was an analyst.  During the period 1995-1997, Mr. Hillary ran a long-short fund.  Prior to joining W.H. Reaves & Co., Mr. Hillary worked for Price Waterhouse.  Mr. Hillary has a B.A. degree from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ and a Law Degree from Fordham Law School, New York, NY.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

 

You can purchase shares of the Fund through broker-dealers or directly through the Fund’s transfer agent. You may buy shares of the Fund with an initial investment of $5,000. Additional investments may be made for as little as $100.

 


You may sell (redeem) your shares on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open, either directly through the Fund’s Transfer Agent by calling [(888) ___-____], or through your broker-dealer or financial intermediary. You may also redeem shares by submitting a written request to LS Opportunity Fund, Valued Advisers Trust, c/o Unified Fund Services, Inc., P.O. Box 6110, Indianapolis, IN 46206.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred or qualified plan account, such as a 401(k) plan, individual retirement account (IRA) or 529 college savings plan. Tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those accounts.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or trust company), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create conflicts of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS

 

Investment Objective

 

LS Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in both long and short positions within a portfolio consisting of primarily publicly-traded common stock, with less risk than that of the stock market in general. The Fund’s investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

 

The Fund seeks strong risk-adjusted returns over a full market cycle. Typically, the Fund will invest in securities of domestic companies with market capitalization greater than $250 million. However, the Fund may invest in non-US equities, provided that such positions do not exceed 30% of the Fund’s total assets.

 

The Fund will employ a research-driven, bottom-up stock selection process on both the long and short side whereby investment decisions are based upon extensive analysis of the business and financial fundamentals concerning particular companies and their industries, leading to an assessment of the companies’ investment value. The Fund seeks to capitalize on significant differences between the current market price of a company’s stock and its current or expected future investment value.

 


The Fund views information management as an important component of the investment process and divides the management of information into two broad categories: (i) information access or acquisition and (ii) information processing or management. The Fund will seek to acquire the best and most timely information, from a wide variety of sources. The information that the Fund seeks will vary case by case, depending on what the Fund believes it needs in order to reach a profitable investment decision in each case. The Fund believes that maximizing the quality of information at the front end of its research process, especially with respect to information that is not widely available or understood, may help create an advantage for the Fund. However, the Fund believes that a greater opportunity to create competitive advantage lies with the quality and efficiency of its information management process. The Fund will bring focused disciplines and experience to bear, first, at the front end, to ferret out from the virtually unlimited quantity of available information that which the Fund believes is most useful and relevant; then, in the analytical stage of the research process, to assess and qualify investment ideas in terms of their appeal as long or short positions; and finally, at the back end, to reach productive investment decisions that satisfy the Fund’s investment criteria and fulfill an understood role in the portfolio overall that may be actively monitored during the holding period of the position. Quantitative tools will be employed at the front end of the investment process to screen for investment ideas, and, at the back end, for portfolio construction and risk management purposes. However, bottom-up fundamental research will be the primary driver of the investment decision-making process.

 

On the long side, the Fund takes positions primarily with respect to equity and equity-related securities of companies whose fundamentals, combined with attractive valuations, indicate significant upside opportunity relative to downside risk. Examples include companies that are able to generate and sustain high returns on capital and self-financed growth; companies generating excess cash that is being used to enhance shareholder value; companies with good franchises that are undergoing significant positive change; and “emerging growth” companies with good fundamentals that are addressing unmet, “open-ended” business opportunities with innovative products or services.

 

On the short side, the Fund invests primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies with weak or deteriorating fundamentals, which, combined with unattractive valuations, indicate significant downside risk. Examples include companies whose valuations indicate a misperception about the quality of their businesses or the sustainability of their growth, and where an event either has taken place or is about to take place that the Fund expects to result in a revaluation downward; companies whose fundamentals were previously strong but have turned down and are likely to weaken significantly further; companies with questionable accounting whose reported results diverge significantly with economic reality; and companies faced with overwhelming competitive or financial challenges not reflected in their valuations.

 

In addition, the Fund plans to use short positions in a “pair-traded” format to exploit valuation anomalies and dampen portfolio volatility. The Fund intends to use a traditional “long/short” hedging strategy to reduce portfolio volatility and isolate stock selection as the primary driver of returns. The Fund may from time to time purchase or sell other securities, such as options, futures, exchange-traded funds, and similar instruments, as risk management tools. However, the primary strategy of the Fund is to make long and short investments in common stocks, with the objective of seeking to generate profits in each position, on both the long and short side.


 

The Fund may from time to time use long or short investments in exchange-traded funds either as a hedging technique, to achieve exposure to a broad basket of securities in a single transaction, to equitize cash until more suitable company-specific long or short investments are identified and consummated, or for other reasons.

 

The Fund may also engage in options and futures transactions, which are sometimes referred to as derivative transactions. The Fund may use derivative transactions for any purpose consistent with its investment objective, such as for hedging or obtaining market exposure. The derivative securities that the Fund may purchase or sell (write) include exchange-traded put or call options on stocks or stock indices. The Fund also may purchase or sell (write) index futures contracts or options on index futures contracts on a temporary basis in lieu of investing in equity securities.

 

The Fund will be managed with a long-term orientation. The objective on the long side of the portfolio is to hold core positions for more than one year – and perhaps for many years. On the short side of the portfolio, holding periods are generally expected to be less than a year. As much as possible within the framework of its investment disciplines, the Fund will strive to minimize taxable income, and maximize long-term capital gains as a share of the total net realized gains and investment income generated over time. However, the Fund will purchase and sell securities at such times as the Fund deems appropriate to achieve the Fund’s objective without regard to portfolio turnover. The Fund will have no restrictions as to the frequency of portfolio turnover.

 

The Fund’s approach is designed to achieve capital growth during periods of rising or stable stock prices and capital preservation during periods of declining stock prices. Because of the Fund’s long-term orientation and normally net long bias, however, it could experience a capital loss in any quarter, and perhaps even over a calendar year. The Fund is not designed to be market-neutral. Investors could lose money from their investment in the Fund.

 

The Fund may reduce or eliminate a position if the position has reached a fair determinant of value, has been revalued as new research uncovers challenges to assumptions underlying the investment case, or through the displacement in the portfolio by a better idea.

 

Temporary Investments

 

To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in money market mutual funds and in U.S. short-term money market instruments as a temporary defensive measure. These instruments include:

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

U.S. government securities

 

Certificates of deposit or other obligations of U.S. banks

 

Corporate debt obligations with remaining maturities of 12 months or less

 


 

Commercial paper

 

Demand and time deposits

 

Repurchase agreements

 

Bankers' acceptances

 

The Fund may also invest in futures, options, shorts and foreign currency hedging as a defensive measure. To the extent that the Fund engages in a temporary, defensive strategy, it may not achieve its investment objective. Any percentage limitations with respect to the investment of assets of the Fund are applied at the time of purchase.

 

Principal Risks

 

Any of the following situations could cause the Fund to lose money or underperform in comparison to its peer group or the broader stock market:

 

Stock Market Risk: Movements in the stock market may affect the Fund's share prices on a daily basis. The overall market and the specific securities held by the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money.

 

Stock Selection Risk: The stocks in the Fund's portfolio may decline in value or not increase in value when the stock market in general is increasing or decreasing in value and you could lose money.

 

Management Risk: Fund management's skill in choosing appropriate investments will play a large part in determining whether the Fund is able to achieve its investment objective. To the extent appropriate investments are not chosen, the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money. Although the Advisor has experience managing discretionary accounts, the Advisor has no prior experience managing a mutual fund. However, the Sub-Advisor’s portfolio manager, Mr. Hillary, has experience managing a mutual fund prior to joining the Sub-Advisor.

 

Non-Diversification Risk:The Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), which means it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of any one issuer than a fund that is considered diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, a fund must classify itself as either diversified or non-diversified. Generally, under the 1940 Act, a “diversified” fund may not purchase the securities of any one issuer, if, at the time of purchase, as to 75% of the fund’s total assets, (i) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (ii) more than 10% of the voting securities of an issuer would be held by the fund. Under the 1940 Act, a “non-diversified” investment company is not subject to such restrictions. However, the Internal Revenue Code also has certain diversification requirements for funds that are “regulated investment companies,” including the Fund. The IRS diversification requirements mean that the limits above effectively apply to 50% of the Fund’s total assets (in lieu of 75%). An investment in a non-diversified fund may entail greater price risk than an investment in a diversified fund. The Fund will be subject to substantially more investment risk and potential for volatility than a diversified fund because the poor performance of an individual security in the Fund’s portfolio will have a greater negative impact

on the Fund’s performance than if the Fund’s assets were diversified among a larger number of portfolio securities.


 

Short Sales Risk: The Fund may make short sales, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security’s price will decline. Short sales may involve substantial risk and leverage. Short sales expose the fund to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as “covering” the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund.

 

Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in foreign securities may involve a greater degree of risk than securities of U.S. issuers. There may be less information about foreign companies in the form of reports and ratings than about U.S. issuers. Foreign issuers may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Foreign markets may not be as developed or efficient as those in the United States, and there is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and listed issuers than in the United States.

 

§

Industry or Sector Risk: Although the Advisor does not expect to concentrate the Fund’s investments in any particular industry or sector, the Advisor may allocate more of the Fund’s investments to particular segments of the market. A particular industry or market sector can be more volatile or under perform relative to the market as a whole. To the extent that the Fund has over weighted holdings within a particular industry or sector, the Fund is subject to an increased risk that its investments in that particular industry or sector may decline because of changing expectations for the performance of that industry or sector.

 

Master Limited Partnership (MLP) Risk: MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns. Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the use of MLPs could enhance or harm the overall performance of the Fund.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Risk: Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties owned by the REITs. Mortgage REITs will be subject to credit risk, interest rate risk and prepayment risk with respect to the loans made. Credit risk is the risk that the borrower will be unable or unwilling to make interest and principal payments on the loan when they are due. Interest rate risk is the risk that a change in the prevailing interest rate will cause the value of the loan to fall. Prepayment risk is the risk that the mortgages underlying mortgage REITs may be paid off early, which makes it difficult to determine their actual maturity and, therefore, to calculate how they will respond to changes in interest rates. The REIT may have to reinvest prepaid amounts at lower rates.

 

Investment Company Securities Risk: When the Fund invests in other investment companies (such as mutual funds or ETFs), it will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the other investment company. Therefore, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. The Fund may also be affected by losses of the underlying funds and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of the underlying funds. The Fund has no control over the risks taken by the underlying funds in which it invests. In addition to risks generally associated with investments in investment company securities, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to non-exchange traded funds: (i) the market price of an ETF’s shares may trade above or below their net asset value; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; (iii) the ETF may employ an investment strategy that utilizes high leverage ratios; and (iv) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange’s officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide “circuit breakers” (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally. The Fund has no control over the risks taken by the underlying funds in which it invests. When the Fund invests in underlying index funds, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities comprising the index on which the ETF or index mutual fund is based and the value of the Fund’s investment will fluctuate in response to the performance of the underlying index. Because the Fund is not required to hold shares of underlying funds for any minimum period, it may be subject to, and may have to pay, short-term redemption fees imposed by the underlying funds.


 

§

Commodity Risk: Some of the underlying funds in which the Fund may invest may invest directly or indirectly in physical commodities, such as gold, silver, and other precious materials. Accordingly, the Fund may be affected by changes in commodity prices which can move significantly in short periods of time and be affected by new discoveries or changes in government regulations.

 

§

Fixed Income Risk: The Fund will be exposed to various fixed income risks, including credit risk that the issuer of the security may not be able to make payments when due. Fixed income securities also face interest rate risk and duration risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk that the prices of fixed income securities generally fall as interest rates rise; conversely, the prices of fixed income securities generally rise as interest rates fall. Specific fixed income securities differ in their sensitivity to changes in interest rates depending on specific characteristics of each fixed income security. A measure investors commonly use to determine this sensitivity is called duration. The longer the duration of a particular fixed income security, generally the greater its price sensitivity is to interest rates. Similarly, a longer duration portfolio of securities generally has greater price sensitivity. Duration is determined by a number of factors, including coupon rate, whether the coupon is fixed or floating, time to maturity, call or put features, and various repayment features.

 

§

Derivatives Risk: The Fund may use derivative instruments. Derivatives are investments the value of which is “derived” from the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. The value of derivatives may rise or fall more rapidly than other investments. For some derivatives, it is possible to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative. Derivatives may be used to create synthetic exposure to an underlying asset or to hedge a portfolio risk. If the Fund uses derivatives to “hedge” the overall risk of its portfolio, it is possible that the hedge may not succeed. This may happen for various reasons, including unexpected changes in the value of the rest of the Fund’s portfolio. Over the counter derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the contract will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete the transaction with the Fund.

 

§

Portfolio Turnover Risk: At times, the Fund may have a portfolio turnover rate of greater than 100%. A high portfolio turnover would result in correspondingly greater brokerage commission expenses and may result in the distribution to shareholders of additional capital gains for tax purposes. These factors may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 


 

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

As with any mutual fund investment, the Fund’s returns will vary and you could lose money.

 

Suitability

 

The Fund may be appropriate for investors who seek long-term annual returns and who are able to accept short-term fluctuations in return for the potential for greater long-term growth. Investors who are seeking significant current income or who have a conservative or short-term investment approach may wish to consider other investments.

 

Portfolio Holdings

 

A description of the Fund's policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

 

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

 

The Advisor's offices are located at 1818 Market Street, Suite 3323, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The Advisor is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Fund and the activities of the Sub-Advisor. The Sub-Advisor’s offices are located at 1400 16th Street, Suite 520, Denver, CO 80202. The Sub-Advisor is responsible for managing the day-to-day investment decisions of the Fund.

 

The Advisor, a Delaware limited liability company, is a registered investment adviser founded in 2010. The Sub-Advisor, a Delaware limited liability company, is a registered investment adviser founded in 2004. As of December 31, 2009, the Sub-Advisor had approximately $342 million under management. Mr. Hillary has experience managing a registered mutual fund prior to joining the Sub-Advisor.  However, the Advisor and Sub-Advisor have no prior experience managing a mutual fund. The Sub-Advisor has been managing other discretionary accounts using the similar style as they anticipate utilizing with the Fund.

 

Management Fees

 

The Fund is required to pay the Advisor a fee equal to 1.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. A discussion of the factors that the Board of Trustees considered in approving the Fund’s advisory agreement will be contained in the Fund’s initial semi-annual report. The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fee and/or reimburse certain Fund operating expenses, but only to the extent necessary so that the Fund’s net expenses, excluding brokerage fees and commissions, borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expenses on securities sold short), taxes, extraordinary expenses and indirect expenses (such as fees and expenses of acquired funds) do not exceed 2.50% of net assets. The contractual agreement is effective through March 31, 2013. Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the Advisor is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three fiscal years following the fiscal year in which the particular expense was incurred, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the applicable expense limitation.


 

If you invest in the Fund through an investment adviser, bank, broker-dealer, 401(k) plan, trust company or other financial intermediary, the policies and fees for transacting business may be different than those described in this Prospectus. Some financial intermediaries may charge transaction fees and may set different minimum investments or limitations on buying or selling shares. Some financial intermediaries do not charge a direct transaction fee, but instead charge a fee for services such as sub-transfer agency, accounting and/or shareholder services that the financial intermediary provides on the Fund’s behalf. This fee may be based on the number of accounts or may be a percentage of the average value of the Fund’s shareholder accounts for which the financial intermediary provides services. The Fund may pay a portion of this fee, which is intended to compensate the financial intermediary for providing the same services that would otherwise be provided by the Fund’s transfer agent or other service providers if the shares were purchased directly from the Fund. To the extent that these fees are not paid by the Fund, the Advisor may pay a fee to financial intermediaries for such services.

 

To the extent that the Advisor, not the Fund, pays a fee to a financial intermediary for distribution or shareholder servicing, the Advisor may consider a number of factors in determining the amount of payment associated with such services, including the amount of sales, assets invested in the Fund and the nature of the services provided by the financial intermediary. Although neither the Fund nor the Advisor pays for the Fund to be included in a financial intermediary’s “preferred list” or other promotional program, some financial intermediaries that receive compensation as described above may have such programs in which the Fund may be included. Financial intermediaries that receive these types of payments may have a conflict of interest in recommending or selling the Fund’s shares rather than other mutual funds, particularly where such payments exceed those associated with other funds. The Fund may from time to time purchase securities issued by financial intermediaries that provide such services; however, in selecting investments for the Fund, no preference will be shown for such securities.

 

Portfolio Management Team

 

Jim Hillary serves as the Sub-Advisor’s Portfolio Manager for the Fund and is responsible for running the day-to-day investment operations and investment management direction of the Sub-Advisor.

 

Jim Hillary: Manager, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the Sub-Advisor, since 2004. From 1997-2004, Mr. Hillary was a senior analyst, portfolio manager and partner at Marsico Capital Management (MCM).  Between February 2000 and January 2002, Mr. Hillary was the portfolio manager of the 21st Century Fund, an all-cap growth fund.  Between February 1, 2002 and March 31, 2004 Mr. Hillary was the Co-Manager of all the large-cap products at MCM.  Prior to MCM, Mr. Hillary was a partner at the investment firm W.H. Reaves & Co., in Jersey City, NJ where he was an analyst.  During the period 1995-1997, Mr. Hillary ran a long-short fund.  Prior to joining W.H. Reaves & Co., Mr. Hillary worked for Price Waterhouse.  Mr. Hillary has a B.A. degree from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ and a Law Degree from Fordham Law School, New York, NY.

 


 

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager's ownership of shares of the Fund, if any.

 

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

 

The price you pay for your shares is based on the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”). The Fund’s NAV is calculated at the close of trading (normally 4:00 P.M. Eastern time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business (the NYSE is closed on weekends, most federal holidays and Good Friday). The Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of the Fund’s total assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares outstanding. Requests to purchase and sell shares are processed at the NAV next calculated after the Fund receives your order in proper form.

 

The Fund’s assets generally are valued at their market value. If market prices are not available (including when they are not reliable), or if an event occurs after the close of the trading market but before the calculation of the NAV that materially affects the values, assets may be valued by the Advisor at a fair value, pursuant to guidelines established by the Board of Trustees. For example, the Advisor may be obligated to fair value a foreign security because many foreign markets operate at times that do not coincide with those of the major U.S. markets. Events that could affect the values of foreign portfolio holdings may occur between the close of the foreign market and the time of determining the NAV, and would not otherwise be reflected in the NAV. When pricing securities using the fair value guidelines established by the Board of Trustees, the Advisor seeks to assign the value that represents the amount that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale of the securities. However, given the subjectivity inherent in fair valuation and the fact that events could occur after NAV calculation, the actual market prices for a security may differ from the fair value of that security as determined by the Advisor at the time of NAV calculation. Thus, discrepancies between fair values and actual market prices may occur on a regular and recurring basis. These discrepancies do not necessarily indicate that the Advisor’s fair value methodology is inappropriate. The Advisor will adjust the fair values assigned to securities in the Fund’s portfolio, to the extent necessary, as soon as market prices become available. The Advisor continually monitors and evaluates the appropriateness of its fair value methodologies through systematic comparisons of fair values to the actual next available market prices of securities contained in the Fund’s portfolio. To the extent the Fund invests in other mutual funds, the Fund’s NAV is calculated based, in part, upon the net asset values of such mutual funds; the prospectuses for those mutual funds in which the Fund will invest describe the circumstances under which those mutual funds will use fair value pricing, which, in turn, affects their net asset values.

 

HOW TO BUY SHARES

 

Shares of the Fund are available exclusively to U.S. citizens. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. This means that when you open an account, we will ask for your name, residential address, date of birth, government identification number and other information that will allow us to identify you. We also may ask to see your driver’s license or other identifying documents, and may take additional steps to verify your identity. If we do not receive these required pieces of information, there may be a delay in processing your investment request, which could subject your investment to market risk. If we are unable to immediately verify your identity, the Fund may restrict further investment until your identity is verified. However, if we are unable to verify your identity, the Fund reserves the right to close your account without notice and return your investment to you at the NAV determined on the day in which your account is closed. If we close your account because we are unable to verify your identity, your investment will be subject to market fluctuation, which could result in a loss of a portion of your principal investment.


 

The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $5,000. Minimum subsequent investments are $100 for all account types. The Advisor may, in its sole discretion, waive these minimums for accounts participating in an automatic investment program and in certain other circumstances. The Fund may waive or lower investment minimums for investors who invest in the Fund through an asset-based fee program made available through a financial intermediary. If your investment is aggregated into an omnibus account established by an investment adviser, broker or other intermediary, the account minimums apply to the omnibus account, not to your individual investment. The financial intermediary may also impose minimum requirements that are different from those set forth in this Prospectus. If you choose to purchase or redeem shares directly from the Fund, you will not incur charges on purchases and redemptions (other than for short-term redemptions). However, if you purchase or redeem shares through a broker-dealer or another intermediary, you may be charged a fee by that intermediary.

 

Initial Purchase

 

By Mail – To be in proper form, your initial purchase request must include:

 

§

a completed and signed investment application form; and

§

a check (subject to the minimum amount) made payable to the Fund.

 

Mail the application and check to:

 

U.S. Mail:

Overnight:

LS Opportunity Fund

LS Opportunity Fund

c/o Unified Fund Services, Inc.

c/o Unified Fund Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 6110

2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300

Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6110

Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

 

By Wire – You may also purchase shares of the Fund by wiring federal funds from your bank, which may charge you a fee for doing so. To wire money, you must call Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____] to obtain instructions on how to set up your account and to obtain an account number.

 

You must provide a signed application to Unified Fund Services Inc., the Fund’s transfer agent, at the above address in order to complete your initial wire purchase. Wire orders will be accepted only on a day on which the Fund and its custodian and transfer agent are open for business. A wire purchase will not be considered made until the wired money is received and the purchase is accepted by the Fund. The purchase price per share will be the net asset value next determined after the wire purchase is accepted by the Fund. Any delays, which may occur in wiring money, including delays that may occur in processing by the banks, are not the responsibility of the Fund or the transfer agent. There is presently no fee for the receipt of wired funds, but the Fund may charge shareholders for this service in the future.


 

Additional Investments

 

You may purchase additional shares of the Fund at any time by mail, wire, or automatic investment. Each additional mail purchase request must contain:

 

 

1.

Your name

 

2.

The name on your account(s)

 

3.

Your account number(s)

 

4.

A check made payable to LS Opportunity Fund

 

Checks should be sent to the Fund at the address listed under the heading “Initial Purchase – By Mail” in this Prospectus. To send a bank wire, call Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____] to obtain instructions.

 

Automatic Investment Plan

 

You may make regular investments in the Fund with an Automatic Investment Plan by completing the appropriate section of the account application and attaching a voided personal check. Investments may be made monthly to allow dollar-cost averaging by automatically deducting $100 or more from your bank checking account. You may change the amount of your monthly purchase at any time. If an Automatic Investment Plan purchase is rejected by your bank, your shareholder account will be charged a fee to defray bank charges.

 

Tax Sheltered Retirement Plans

 

Shares of the Fund may be an appropriate investment for tax-sheltered retirement plans, including: individual retirement plans (IRAs); simplified employee pension plans (SEPs); 401(k) plans; qualified corporate pension and profit-sharing plans (for employees); tax deferred investment plans (for employees of public school systems and certain types of charitable organizations); and other qualified retirement plans. You should contact Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____] for the procedure to open an IRA or SEP plan, as well as more specific information regarding these retirement plan options. Please consult with an attorney or tax adviser regarding these plans. You must pay custodial fees for your IRA by redemption of sufficient shares of the Fund from the IRA unless you pay the fees directly to the IRA custodian. Call Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____] about the IRA custodial fees.


 

Other Purchase Information

 

The Fund may limit the amount of purchases and refuse to sell shares to any person. If your check or wire does not clear, you will be responsible for any loss incurred by the Fund. You may be prohibited or restricted from making future purchases in the Fund. Checks should be made payable to the Fund. The Fund and its transfer agent may refuse any purchase order for any reason. Cash, third party checks (except for properly endorsed IRA rollover checks), counter checks, starter checks, traveler’s checks, money orders, credit card checks, and checks drawn on non-U.S. financial institutions will not be accepted. Cashier’s checks and bank official checks may be accepted in amounts greater than $10,000. In such cases, a fifteen (15) calendar day hold will be applied to the funds, which means that you may not redeem your shares until the holding period has expired. Cashier’s checks and bank official checks in amounts less than $10,000 will also be accepted for IRA transfers from other financial institutions.

 

HOW TO REDEEM SHARES

 

You may receive redemption payments by check or federal wire transfer. The proceeds may be more or less than the purchase price of your shares, depending on the market value of the Fund’s securities at the time of your redemption. If you redeem your shares through a broker/dealer or other financial institution, you may be charged a fee by that institution. You should consult with your broker-dealer or other financial institution for more information on these fees.

 

By Mail – You may redeem any part of your account in the Fund at no charge by mail. Your request should be addressed to:

 

U.S. Mail:

Overnight:

LS Opportunity Fund

LS Opportunity Fund

c/o Unified Fund Services, Inc.

c/o Unified Fund Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 6110

2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300

Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6110

Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

 

Your request for a redemption must include your letter of instruction, including the Fund name, account number, account names, the address, and the dollar amount or number of shares you wish to redeem. Requests to sell shares that are received in good order are processed at the net asset value next calculated after the Fund receives your order in proper form. To be in good order, your request must be signed by all registered share owner(s) in the exact name(s) and any special capacity in which they are registered. The Fund may require that signatures be guaranteed if you request the redemption check be made payable to any person other than the shareholder(s) of record or mailed to an address other than the address of record, or if the mailing address has been changed within 30 days of the redemption request. The Fund may also require a signature guarantee for redemptions of $25,000 or more. Signature guarantees are for the protection of shareholders. You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks and securities dealers, but not from a notary public. All documentation requiring a signature guarantee must utilize a New Technology Medallion Stamp. For joint accounts, both signatures must be guaranteed. Please call Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____] if you have questions. At the discretion of the Fund or its transfer agent, you may be required to furnish additional legal documents to insure proper authorization.

 


By Telephone – You may redeem any part of your account in the Fund (up to $25,000) by calling Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____]. You must first complete the optional Telephone Redemption section of the investment application to institute this option. The Fund and its transfer agent and custodian are not liable for following redemption or exchange instructions communicated by telephone to the extent that they reasonably believe the telephone instructions to be genuine. However, if they do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that telephone instructions are genuine, they may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. Procedures employed may include recording telephone instructions and requiring a form of personal identification from the caller.

 

The Fund or its transfer agent may terminate the telephone redemption procedures at any time. During periods of extreme market activity, it is possible that shareholders may encounter some difficulty in telephoning the Fund, although neither the Fund nor the transfer agent has ever experienced difficulties in receiving and in a timely fashion responding to telephone requests for redemptions or exchanges. If you are unable to reach the Fund by telephone, you may request a redemption or exchange by mail.

 

By Wire – A wire transfer fee of $15 is charged to defray custodial charges for redemptions paid by wire transfer. This fee is subject to change. Any charges for wire redemptions will be deducted from your Fund account by redemption of shares.

 

Redemptions in Kind

 

The Fund does not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. However, if the amount you are redeeming is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net asset value, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net asset value in securities instead of cash. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, a shareholder may incur additional expenses, such as the payment of brokerage commissions, on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund.

 

Fund Policy on Market Timing

 

The Fund discourages market timing and does not accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares by Fund shareholders. Market timing is an investment strategy using frequent purchases, redemptions and/or exchanges in an attempt to profit from short-term market movements. Market timing can result in dilution of the value of Fund shares held by long-term shareholders, disrupt portfolio management and increase Fund expenses for all shareholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a policy directing the Fund to reject any purchase order with respect to any investor, a related group of investors or their agent(s), where it detects a pattern of purchases and sales of the Fund that indicates market timing or trading that it determines is abusive. This policy generally applies to all Fund shareholders. The Board of Trustees also has adopted a redemption policy to discourage short-term traders and/or market timers from investing in the Fund. A 2.00% short-term redemption fee will be assessed by the Fund against investment proceeds withdrawn within 60 calendar days of investment. Fund shares received from reinvested distributions or capital gains are not subject to the redemption fee. After excluding any shares that are associated with reinvested distributions from the redemption fee calculation, the Fund uses a “first-in, first-out” method to determine the 60 calendar day holding period.

 


Thus, if you bought shares on different days, the shares purchased first will be redeemed first for purposes of determining whether the redemption fee applies. The proceeds collected from redemption fees will be retained by the Fund for the benefit of existing shareholders.

 

If you invest in the Fund through a bank, broker-dealer, 401(k) plan, financial adviser or financial supermarket (“Financial Intermediary”), the Financial Intermediary may, in lieu of charging the redemption fee set forth in this Prospectus, enforce its own market timing policy. Omnibus accounts that include multiple customers of the Financial Intermediary also will be exempt from the redemption fee if the Financial Intermediary does not track and/or process redemption fees. Additionally, the transfer of shares from one retirement account to another, accounts participating in a wrap fee program and redemptions caused by decisions of employer-sponsored retirements plans may be exempt from the redemption fee. Redemption fees may be waived for mandatory retirement withdrawals, systematic withdrawals, redemptions made to pay for various administrative fees and, at the sole discretion of the Advisor, due to change in an investor’s circumstances, such as death. No exceptions will be granted to persons believed to be “market-timers.”

 

While the Fund attempts to deter market timing, there is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify and eliminate all market timers. For example, omnibus accounts typically provide the Fund with a net purchase or redemption request on any given day where purchasers and redeemers of Fund shares are netted against one another and the identities of individual purchasers and redeemers whose orders are aggregated is not known by the Fund. Despite the Fund’s efforts to detect and prevent abusive trading activities, it may be difficult for the Fund to identify such activity in certain omnibus accounts traded through financial intermediaries since the Fund may not have knowledge of the identity of individual investors and their transactions in such accounts. Under a federal rule, the Fund is required to have an agreement with many of its intermediaries obligating the intermediaries to provide, upon the Fund’s request, information regarding the intermediaries’ customers and their transactions. However, there can be no guarantee that all excessive, short-term or other abusive trading activities will be detected, even if such an agreement is in place. Certain intermediaries, in particular retirement plan sponsors and administrators, may have less restrictive policies regarding short-term trading. The Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order for any reason, including purchase orders that it does not think are in the best interest of the Fund or its shareholders, or if the Fund thinks that trading is abusive. The Fund has not entered into any arrangements with any person to permit frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares.

 

Additional Information

 

If you are not certain of the requirements for a redemption please call Shareholder Services at (___) ___-____. Redemptions specifying a certain date or share price cannot be accepted and will be returned. You will be mailed the proceeds on or before the fifth business day following the redemption. However, payment for redemption made against shares purchased by check will be made only after the check has been collected, which normally may take up to fifteen calendar days. Also, when the New York Stock Exchange is closed (or when trading is restricted) for any reason other than its customary weekend or holiday closing or under any emergency circumstances, as determined by the Securities and Exchange

Commission, the Fund may suspend redemptions or postpone payment dates. You may be assessed a fee if the Fund incurs bank charges because you request that the Fund re-issue a redemption check.


 

Redemption proceeds sent via check by the Fund and not cashed within 180 days will be reinvested in the Fund at the current day’s NAV. Redemption proceeds that are reinvested are subject to the risk of loss like any other investment in the Fund.

 

Because the Fund incurs certain fixed costs in maintaining shareholder accounts, the Fund may redeem all of your shares in the Fund on 30 days’ written notice if the value of your shares in the Fund is less than $2,500 due to redemption, or such other minimum amount as the Fund may determine from time to time. You may increase the value of your shares in the Fund to the minimum amount within the 30 day period. All shares of the Fund also are subject to involuntary redemption if the Board of Trustees determines to liquidate the Fund. In such event, the Board may close the Fund with notice to shareholders but without obtaining shareholder approval. An involuntary redemption will create a capital gain or capital loss, which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax adviser.

 

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES

 

Dividends and Distributions.

 

The Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders substantially all of its net investment income and realized net capital gains. The Fund intends to declare and pay distributions at least annually. These distributions are automatically reinvested in the Fund unless you request cash distributions on your application or through a written request to the Fund. The Fund expects that its distributions will consist primarily of income and net realized capital gains. Net investment income distributed by the Fund generally will consist of interest income, if any, and dividends received on investments, less expenses.

 

Unless you indicate another option on your account application, any dividends and capital gain distributions paid to you by the Fund automatically will be invested in additional shares of the Fund. Alternatively, you may elect to have: (1) dividends paid to you in cash and the amount of any capital gain distributions reinvested; or (2) the full amount of any dividends and capital gain distributions paid to you in cash. The Fund will send dividends and capital gain distributions elected to be received as cash to the address of record or bank of record on the applicable account. Your distribution option will automatically be converted to having all dividends and other distributions reinvested in additional shares if any of the following occur:

 

§

Postal or other delivery service is unable to deliver checks to the address of record;

§

Dividend and capital gain distribution checks are not cashed within 180 days; or

§

Bank account of record is no longer valid.

 

Dividend and capital gain distribution checks issued by the Fund that are not cashed within 180 days will be reinvested in the Fund at the current day’s NAV. When reinvested, those amounts are subject to risk of loss like any other investment in the Fund.

 


Selling shares (including redemptions) and receiving distributions (whether reinvested or taken in cash) usually are taxable events to the Fund’s shareholders, as discussed below.

 

Summary of Certain Federal Income Tax Consequences.

 

The following information is meant as a general summary of the U.S. federal income tax provisions regarding the taxation of the Fund’s shareholders. Additional tax information appears in the SAI. Shareholders should rely on their own tax adviser for advice about the particular federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.

 

The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized gains to its shareholders at least annually. A Fund's shareholders may elect to take in cash or reinvest in additional Fund shares any dividends from net investment income or capital gains distributions. Although the Fund will not be taxed on amounts it distributes, shareholders will generally be taxed on distributions, regardless of whether distributions are paid by the Fund in cash or are reinvested in additional Fund shares. Distributions to non-corporate investors attributable to ordinary income and short-term capital gains are generally taxed as ordinary income, although certain income dividends may be taxed to non-corporate shareholders as qualified dividend income at long-term capital gains rates provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied. Absent further legislation, such long-term capital gains rate will not apply to qualified dividend income distributed after December 31, 2010. Distributions of long-term capital gains are generally taxed as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long a shareholder has held Fund shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as federal taxes.

 

As described above, the Fund might invest in foreign securities. Accordingly, the Fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes on income from certain foreign securities, which could reduce the amount of distributions paid to shareholders. The shareholders might be able to claim a credit or deduction for foreign taxes paid if more than 50% of the Fund's assets are invested in foreign securities at the end of a fiscal year and the Fund makes an election to pass through to the shareholders their pro rata share of foreign taxes paid. If this election is made, the Fund may report more taxable income to the shareholders than it actually distributes. The shareholders will then be entitled either to deduct their share of these taxes in computing their taxable income, or to claim a foreign tax credit for these taxes against their U.S. federal income tax (subject to limitations for certain shareholders). The Fund will provide the shareholders with the information necessary to claim this deduction or credit on their personal income tax return if the Fund makes this election.

 

Taxable distributions paid by the Fund to corporate shareholders will be taxed at corporate tax rates. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends received deduction (“DRD”) for a portion of the dividends paid and designated by the Fund as qualifying for the DRD provided certain holding period requirements are met.

 

In general, a shareholder who sells or redeems Fund shares will realize a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the Fund shares, provided that any loss recognized on the sale of Fund shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of capital gain dividends received with respect to such shares. An exchange of shares may be treated as a sale and any gain may be subject to tax.


 

The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax (presently at the rate of twenty-eight percent (28%)) on all taxable distributions payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification numbers or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the Internal Revenue Service that they are subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, rather, it is a way in which the Internal Revenue Service ensures it will collect taxes otherwise due. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

 

Shareholders should consult with their own tax adviser to ensure that distributions and sales of Fund shares are treated appropriately on their income tax returns.

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

Because the Fund recently commenced operations, there are no financial highlights available at this time.

 

 


Appendix

SUB-ADVISOR’S PRIOR PERFORMANCE

 

The data below is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Fund’s Sub-Advisor in managing equity accounts utilizing strategies that are substantially similar to those that will be utilized by the Fund. This prior performance of the Sub-Advisor does not represent the performance of the Fund, nor should it be considered a substitute for the Fund’s performance. You should not consider this performance data as a prediction or an indication of future performance of the Fund or the performance that one might achieve by investing in the Fund.

The Independence Capital Asset Partners Composite (the “Composite”) represents the accounts in the Composite that have investment objectives, policies and strategies that are substantially similar. As of December 31, 2009 the Composite consisted of 3 advisory accounts. As of this date, the total assets of the Composite were approximately $342 million.

In certain cases, the calculation methodologies utilized to create the Composite may be different from the standard SEC formula used by mutual funds for presenting their performance returns. The returns of the accounts represented in the Composite reflect the deduction of management fees, incentive allocation and other expenses and includes gross dividends and other income reinvested in the portfolios. The Composite reflects performance for a typical investor in the portfolio who invested at the beginning of the period and remained invested throughout the period. The performance for an individual investor may vary based upon the investor’s eligibility to participate in new issues. Advisory fees are deducted monthly and over time will reduce the net return on a compounded basis.

The private accounts represented by the Composite are not subject to the same types of expenses as the Fund or to the diversification requirements, specific tax restrictions and investment limitations imposed on the Fund by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Consequently, the performance results for such private accounts could have been adversely affected if they had been subject to mutual fund regulations. In addition, the operating expenses incurred by the accounts included were lower than the anticipated operating expenses of the Fund, and, accordingly, those expenses generally have less of an adverse effect on the performance results of the Composite.


Trailing Period Returns

Ending December 2009

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

Since Inception 11/30/2009

Independence Capital Asset Partners

25.41%

-1.18%

6.75%

9.09%

9.55%

11.35%

S&P 500

26.46%

-10.74%

-5.63%

-0.67%

0.42%

1.84%

 


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

You can find additional information about the Fund in the following documents:

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports: While this Prospectus describes the Fund’s potential investments, the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports detail the Fund’s actual investments as of their report dates. The Annual report will include a discussion by Fund management of recent market conditions, economic trends, and investment strategies that significantly affected Fund performance during the reporting period.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI): The SAI supplements the Prospectus and contains detailed information about the Fund and its investment restrictions, risks, policies, and operations, including the Fund’s policies and procedures relating to the disclosure of portfolio holdings by the Fund’s affiliates. A current SAI for the Fund is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference, which means it is considered part of this Prospectus.

How to Obtain Copies of Other Fund Documents

You can obtain free copies of the current SAI, and, when available, the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, and request other information about the Fund or make shareholder inquiries, in any of the following ways:

You can get free copies of the current Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, as well as the SAI, by contacting Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____]. You may also request other information about the Fund and make shareholder inquiries. The Fund’s SAI and Annual and Semi-Annual reports are not made available on a website, because the Fund currently does not have a website. The requested documents will be sent within three business days of receipt of the request.

You may review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI and other reports) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call the SEC at 1-202-551-8090 for room hours and operation. You may also obtain reports and other information about the Fund on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.

Investment Company Act #811-22208

 

 

 


Long Short Advisors, LLC

LS Opportunity Fund

 

A Series of the Valued Advisers Trust

LSOFX

Statement of Additional Information

________, 2010

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus (the “Prospectus”) of the LS Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) dated __________, 2010. A free copy of the Prospectus can be obtained by writing Unified Fund Services, Inc., the Fund’s transfer agent, at P.O. Box 6110, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6110, or by calling Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____].

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                                   

 
   Page

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND

1

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FUND INVESTMENTS AND RISK CONSIDERATIONS                                 2

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

11

 

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

13

 

INVESTMENT ADVISOR

13

 

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

15

 

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

19

 

ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

19

 

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

19

 

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

21

 

PROXY VOTING POLICY

22

 

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

23

 

REDEMPTION IN-KIND

23

 

STATUS AND TAXATION OF THE FUND

24

 

CUSTODIAN

30

 

FUND SERVICES

31

 

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

31

 

LEGAL COUNSEL

31

 

DISTRIBUTOR

32

 

DISTRIBUTION PLAN

32

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

32

 

EXHIBIT A (VALUED ADVISERS TRUST PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURE)

33

 

EXHIBIT B (EXHIBIT B (SUB-ADVISOR'S PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURE)

33

 

 


DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND

The LS Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) is an open-end, non-diversified series of the Valued Advisers Trust (the “Trust”). The Trust is a management investment company established under the laws of Delaware by an Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated June 13, 2008 (the “Trust Agreement”). The Trust Agreement permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest of separate series without par value. The Fund is one of a series of funds authorized by the Trustees. The Fund’s investment advisor is Long Short Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”). The Fund’s Sub-Advisor is Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC (the “Sub-Advisor”).

The Fund does not issue share certificates. All shares are held in non-certificate form registered on the books of the Fund and its transfer agent for the account of the shareholders. Each share of a series represents an equal proportionate interest in the assets and liabilities belonging to that series with each other share of that series and is entitled to such dividends and distributions out of income belonging to the series as are declared by the Trustees. The shares do not have cumulative voting rights or any preemptive or conversion rights, and the Trustees have the authority from time to time to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series so long as the proportionate beneficial interest in the assets belonging to that series and the rights of shares of any other series are in no way affected. In case of any liquidation of a series, the holders of shares of the series being liquidated will be entitled to receive as a class a distribution out of the assets, net of the liabilities, belonging to that series. Expenses attributable to any series are borne by that series. Any general expenses of the Trust not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular series are allocated by or under the direction of the Trustees in such manner as the Trustees determine to be fair and equitable. No shareholder is liable to further calls or to assessment by the Trust without his or her express consent.

Any Trustee of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust. The Trust does not hold an annual meeting of shareholders. When matters are submitted to shareholders for a vote, each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each whole share he or she owns and fractional votes for fractional shares he or she owns. All shares of the Fund have equal voting rights and liquidation rights. The Trust Agreement can be amended by the Trustees, except that certain amendments that adversely affect the rights of shareholders must be approved by the shareholders affected. All shares of the Fund are subject to involuntary redemption if the Trustees determine to liquidate the Fund. An involuntary redemption will create a capital gain or a capital loss, which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax advisor.

For information concerning the purchase and redemption of shares of the Fund, see “How to Buy Shares” and “How to Redeem Shares” in the Fund’s Prospectus. For a description of the methods used to determine the share price and value of the Fund’s assets, see “Determination of Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus and this SAI. The Fund has authorized one or more brokers to receive on its behalf purchase and redemption orders. Such brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker or, if applicable, a broker’s authorized designee, receives the order.

 


Customer orders will be priced at the Fund’s net asset value next computed after they are received by an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee and accepted by the Fund. The performance of the Fund may be compared in publications to the performance of various indices and investments for which reliable performance data is available. The performance of the Fund may be compared in publications to averages, performance rankings, or other information prepared by recognized mutual fund statistical services. The annual report contains additional performance information and will be made available to investors upon request and without charge.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FUND

INVESTMENTS AND RISK CONSIDERATIONS

This section contains additional information about the investments the Fund may make and some of the techniques it may use. It is not the Fund’s policy to invest in illiquid securities.

A.          Equity Securities. Equity securities include common stock and common stock equivalents (such as rights and warrants, and convertible securities). Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specified price valid for a specific time period. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a short duration and are distributed by the issuer to its shareholders. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy underlying equity securities at a specific price for a specific period of time. A warrant tends to be more volatile than its underlying securities and ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. In addition, changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying securities.

B.          Real Estate Investment Trusts. The Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs manage portfolios of real estate investments that either own properties or make construction or mortgage loans to real estate developers and companies with substantial real estate holdings. These investments may be either equity or debt instruments. Equity REITs are companies that directly own real estate and realize income primarily from renting properties and selling them for capital gains. Mortgage REITs specialize in lending money to building developers and realize income by earning interest income on those loans. Hybrid REITs have a mix of both types of investments. There are certain risks regarding investing in REITs due to the cyclical nature of real estate and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates, economic conditions, property tax rates, changes in real estate values, changes in rental income, creditworthiness of the issuer, overbuilding, increased competition, and other factors. In the short-term, stock prices can fluctuate dramatically in response to these factors. The value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT, and REITs may not have diversified holdings. Investments in securities of REITs entail additional risks because REITs depend on specialized management skills, may invest in a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. Because REITs are pooled investment vehicles that have expenses of their own, the fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of those expenses. REITs must also satisfy specific Internal Revenue Code provisions before they are qualified to pass income through to shareholders without paying taxes.

 


C.          Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest directly in foreign securities. Investing in securities of foreign companies and countries involves certain considerations and risks that are not typically associated with investing in U.S. government securities and securities of domestic companies. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than a domestic one, and foreign companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. There may also be less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies than exists in the United States. Interest and dividends paid by foreign issuers may be subject to withholding and other foreign taxes, which may decrease the net return on such investments as compared to dividends and interest paid to the Fund by domestic companies or the U.S. government. There may be the possibility of expropriations, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, confiscatory taxation, political, economic or social instability or diplomatic developments that could affect assets of the Fund held in foreign countries. The establishment of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions could adversely affect the payment of obligations. In addition, investing in foreign securities will generally result in higher commissions than investing in similar domestic securities.

       Decreases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund will invest relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding decrease in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets denominated in those currencies (and possibly a corresponding increase in the amount of securities required to be liquidated to meet distribution requirements). Conversely, increases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund invests relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding increase in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets (and possibly a corresponding decrease in the amount of securities to be liquidated).

 

D.          Investment Company Securities. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, such as other mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) or money market funds, subject to the restrictions and limitations of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). When the Fund invests in other investment companies, it will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the investment company. In connection with its investments in other investment companies, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. Furthermore, because the Fund may also invest in shares of ETFs and underlying funds its performance is directly related to the ability of the ETFs and underlying funds to meet their respective investment objectives, as well as the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the ETFs and underlying funds by the Advisor. Accordingly, the Fund’s investment performance will be influenced by the investment strategies of and risks associated with the ETFs and underlying funds in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund allocates to the ETFs and underlying funds utilizing such strategies.

Investments in ETFs involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in a broadly-based portfolio of stocks, including risks that: (1) the general level of stock prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of each unit of the ETF or other instrument; (2) an ETF may not fully replicate the performance of its benchmark index because of the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weightings of securities or number of stocks held; (3) an ETF may also be adversely affected by the performance of the specific index, market sector or group of industries on which it is based; and (4) an ETF may not track an index as well as a traditional index mutual fund because ETFs are valued by the market and, therefore, there may be a difference between the market value and the ETF’s net asset value. Additionally, investments in fixed income ETFs involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in fixed income securities, including the risk of fluctuation in market value based on interest rates rising or declining and risks of a decrease in liquidity, such that no assurances can be made that an active trading market for underlying ETFs will be maintained.


There is also a risk that the underlying funds or ETFs may terminate due to extraordinary events. For example, any of the service providers to the underlying fund or ETF, such as the trustee or sponsor, may close or otherwise fail to perform their obligations to the underlying fund or ETF, and the underlying fund or ETF may not be able to find a substitute service provider. Also, the underlying fund or ETF may be dependent upon licenses to use the various indices as a basis for determining their compositions and/or otherwise to use certain trade names. If these licenses are terminated, the respective underlying fund or ETF may also terminate. In addition, and underlying fund or ETF may terminate if its net assets fall below a certain amount. Although the Fund believes that in the event of the termination of an underlying fund or ETF, it will be able to invest instead in shares of an alternate underlying fund or ETF tracking the same market index or another index covering the same general market, there can be no assurance that shares of an alternate underlying fund or ETF would be available for investment at that time.

Generally, under the 1940 Act, a fund may not acquire shares of another investment company (including ETFs) if, immediately after such acquisition, (i) such fund would hold more than 3% of the other investment company’s total outstanding shares, (ii) if such fund’s investment in securities of the other investment company would be more than 5% of the value of the total assets of the fund, or (iii) if more than 10% of such fund’s total assets would be invested in investment companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has granted orders for exemptive relief to certain ETFs that permit investments in those ETFs by other investment companies (such as the Fund) in excess of these limits. The Fund may invest in ETFs that have received such exemptive orders from the SEC, pursuant to the conditions specified in such orders. In accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F)(i) of the 1940 Act, the Fund may also invest in ETFs that have not received such exemptive orders as long as the Fund (and all of its affiliated persons, including the Advisor) does not acquire more than 3% of the total outstanding stock of such underlying ETF, unless otherwise permitted to do so pursuant to permission granted by the SEC. If the Fund seeks to redeem shares of an underlying ETF purchased in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F), the underlying ETF is not obligated to redeem an amount exceeding 1% of the underlying ETF’s outstanding shares during a period of less than 30 days. As of the date of this Registration Statement the SEC has proposed Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act. Subject to certain conditions, proposed Rule 12d1-4 would provide an exemption to permit acquiring funds to invest in ETFs in excess of the limits of section 12(d)(1), including those described above.

E.          Commodities. The Fund may invest in underlying funds that hold a portfolio of commodities. Commodities are physical substances, such as metals, that investors buy or sell on the market, usually through futures contracts. The price of a commodity is subject to supply and demand. Commodity risk refers to the uncertainties of future market values and the size of future income, caused by fluctuation in the price of a commodity. An investment in commodities contends with the following types of risks: price risk, adverse movements in world prices, exchange rates, and the basis between local and world prices; quantity risk; cost risk, input price risk; and political risk, how political conditions can affect supply, demand and the price of commodities.


F.          Fixed Income Securities. The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities. Even though interest-bearing securities are investments that promise a stable stream of income, the prices of such securities are affected by changes in interest rates. In general, fixed income security prices rise when interest rates fall and fall when interest rates rise. Securities with shorter maturities, while offering lower yields, generally provide greater price stability than longer term securities and are less affected by changes in interest rates. The values of fixed-income securities also may be affected by changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entities. Once the rating of a portfolio security has been changed, the Fund will consider all circumstances deemed relevant in determining whether to continue to hold the security.

Fixed-income investments bear certain risks, including credit risk, or the ability of an issuer to pay interest and principal as they become due. Generally, higher yielding bonds are subject to more credit risk than lower yielding bonds. Interest rate risk refers to the fluctuations in value of fixed-income securities resulting from the inverse relationship between the market value of outstanding fixed-income securities and changes in interest rates. An increase in interest rates will generally reduce the market value of fixed-income investments and a decline in interest rates will tend to increase their value.

 

Call risk is the risk that an issuer will pay principal on an obligation earlier than scheduled or expected, which would accelerate cash flows from, and shorten the average life of, the security. Bonds are typically called when interest rates have declined. In the event of a bond being called, the Advisor may have to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities to the detriment of the Fund.

 

Extension risk is the risk that an issuer may pay principal on an obligation slower than expected, having the effect of extending the average life and duration of the obligation. This typically happens when interest rates have increased.

 

When investing in fixed-income securities, the Fund may purchase securities regardless of their rating, including fixed-income securities rated below investment grade – securities rated below investment grade are often referred to as high yield securities or “junk bonds”. High yield securities or “junk bonds,” involve special risks in addition to the risks associated with investments in higher rated fixed income securities. While offering a greater potential opportunity for capital appreciation and higher yields, high yield securities may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk, may entail greater potential price volatility, and may be less liquid than higher rated fixed income securities. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. They may also be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than higher rated securities. Fixed income securities rated in the lowest investment grade categories by the rating agencies may also possess speculative characteristics. If securities are in default with respect to the payment of interest or the repayment on principal, or present an imminent risk of default with respect to such payments, the issuer of such securities may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Fund may lose its entire investment in the high yield security. In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield securities, and this may have an impact on the Fund’s ability to accurately value high yield securities and the Fund’s assets and on the Fund’s ability to dispose of the securities. Adverse publicity and investor perception, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield securities especially in a thinly traded market.


 

G.          Derivative Instruments. The Fund may invest in derivative instruments, which are financial instruments whose performance and value are derived, at least in part, from another source, such as the performance of an underlying asset or security. Derivatives may be purchased for hedging purposes, to enhance returns, as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities, to maintain liquidity or in anticipation of changes in the composition of its portfolio holdings. The Fund's transactions in derivative instruments may include, among others, the purchase and writing of options on securities.

Writing Covered Call Options - The Fund may write covered call options on equity securities or futures contracts that the Fund is eligible to purchase to earn premium income, to assure a definite price for a security it has considered selling, or to close out options previously purchased. The Fund may write covered call options if, immediately thereafter, not more than 30% of its net assets would be committed to such transactions. A call option gives the holder (buyer) the right to purchase a security or futures contract at a specified price (the exercise price) at any time until a certain date (the expiration date). A call option is “covered” if the Fund owns the underlying security subject to the call option at all times during the option period. When the Fund writes a covered call option, it maintains a segregated account with its Custodian or as otherwise required by the rules of the exchange the underlying security, cash or liquid portfolio securities in an amount not less than the exercise price at all times while the option is outstanding.

The writing of covered call options is considered to be a conservative investment technique. The Fund will receive a premium from writing a call option, which increases the Fund’s return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option and the remaining term of the option. However, there is no assurance that a closing transaction can be effected at a favorable price. During the option period, the covered call writer has, in return for the premium received, given up the opportunity for capital appreciation above the exercise price should the market price of the underlying security increase, but has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline.

Writing Covered Put Options - The Fund may write covered put options on equity securities and futures contracts that the Fund is eligible to purchase to earn premium income or to assure a definite price for a security if it is considering acquiring the security at a lower price than the current market price or to close out options previously purchased. The Fund may not write a put option if, immediately thereafter, more than 25% of its net assets would be committed to such transactions. A put option gives the holder of the option the right to sell, and the writer has the obligation to buy, the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The operation of put options in other respects is substantially identical to that of call options. When the Fund writes a covered put option, it maintains in a segregated account with its Custodian cash or liquid portfolio securities in an amount not less than the exercise price at all times while the put option is outstanding.


The Fund will receive a premium from writing a put option, which increases the Fund’s return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option and the remaining term of the option. The risks involved in writing put options include the risk that a closing transaction cannot be effected at a favorable price and the possibility that the price of the underlying security may fall below the exercise price, in which case the Fund may be required to purchase the underlying security at a higher price than the market price of the security at the time the option is exercised, resulting in a potential capital loss unless the security subsequently appreciates in value.

The Fund may also write straddles (combinations of puts and calls on the same underlying security.)

Purchasing Put Options - The Fund may purchase put options. As the holder of a put option, the Fund has the right to sell the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire.

The Fund may purchase a put option on an underlying security (a “protective put”) owned as a defensive technique in order to protect against an anticipated decline in the value of the security. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the Fund, as the holder of the put option, is able to sell the underlying security at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying security’s market price. For example, a put option may be purchased in order to protect unrealized appreciation of a security where it is desirable to continue to hold the security because of tax considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs would reduce any capital gain otherwise available for distribution when the security is eventually sold.

The Fund may also purchase put options at a time when it does not own the underlying security. By purchasing put options on a security it does not own, the Fund seeks to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying security. If the put option is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the Fund will lose its entire investment in the put option. In order for the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs, unless the put option is sold in a closing sale transaction.

The premium paid by the Fund when purchasing a put option will be recorded as an asset in the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. This asset will be adjusted daily to the option’s current market value, which will be the latest sale price at the time at which the Fund’s net asset value per share is computed (close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange), or, in the absence of such sale, the latest bid price. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option, the selling (writing) of an identical option in a closing transaction, or the delivery of the underlying security upon the exercise of the option. The purchaser of a put option risks a total loss of the premium paid for the option if the price of the underlying security does not increase or decrease sufficiently to justify exercise.


Purchasing Call Options - The Fund may purchase call options. As the holder of a call option, the Fund has the right to purchase the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire. The Fund may also purchase call options on relevant stock indexes. Call options may also be purchased by the Fund for the purpose of acquiring the underlying securities for its portfolio. Utilized in this fashion, the purchase of call options enables the Fund to acquire the securities at the exercise price of the call option plus the premium paid. At times the net cost of acquiring securities in this manner may be less than the cost of acquiring the securities directly. This technique may also be useful to the Fund in purchasing a large block of securities that would be more difficult to acquire by direct market purchases. So long as it holds such a call option rather than the underlying security itself, the Fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security and in such event could allow the call option to expire, incurring a loss only to the extent of the premium paid for the option.

The Fund may also purchase call options on underlying securities it owns in order to protect unrealized gains on call options previously written by it. A call option would be purchased for this purpose where tax considerations make it inadvisable to realize such gains through a closing purchase transaction. Call options may also be purchased at times to avoid realizing losses that would result in a reduction of the Fund’s current return. For example, where the Fund has written a call option on an underlying security having a current market value below the price at which such security was purchased by the Fund, an increase in the market price could result in the exercise of the call option written by the Fund and the realization of a loss on the underlying security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option previously written.

Options Transactions Generally - Option transactions in which the Fund may engage involve the specific risks described above as well as the following risks: the writer of an option may be assigned an exercise at any time during the option period; disruptions in the markets for underlying instruments could result in losses for options investors; imperfect or no correlation between the option and the securities being hedged; the insolvency of a broker could present risks for the broker’s customers; and market imposed restrictions may prohibit the exercise of certain options. In addition, the option activities of the Fund may affect its portfolio turnover rate and the amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund. The success of the Fund in using the option strategies described above depends, among other things, on a sub-advisor’s ability to predict the direction and volatility of price movements in the options, futures contracts and securities markets and its ability to select the proper time, type and duration of the options.

 


The Fund may purchase either exchange-traded or over-the-counter options on securities. With certain exceptions, over-the-counter options, and any assets used to cover them, are considered illiquid securities. The Fund’s ability to terminate options positions established in the over-the-counter market may be more limited than in the case of exchange-traded options and may also involve the risk that securities dealers participating in such transactions would fail to meet their obligations to the Fund.

Futures Contracts - The Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts to hedge against changes in prices. The Fund will not engage in futures transactions for speculative purposes. The Fund may also write call options and purchase put options on futures contracts as a hedge to attempt to protect securities in its portfolio against decreases in value. When the Fund writes a call option on a futures contract, it is undertaking the obligation of selling a futures contract at a fixed price at any time during a specified period if the option is exercised. Conversely, as purchaser of a put option on a futures contract, the Fund is entitled (but not obligated) to sell a futures contract at the fixed price during the life of the option.

The Fund may not purchase or sell futures contracts or related options if immediately thereafter the sum of the amount of margin deposits on the Fund’s existing futures positions and premiums paid for related options would exceed 5% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets. When the Fund purchases futures contracts, an amount of cash and cash equivalents equal to the underlying commodity value of the futures contracts (less any related margin deposits) will be deposited in a segregated account with the Fund’s custodian (or the broker, if legally permitted) to collateralize the position and thereby insure that the use of such futures contract is unleveraged. When the Fund sells futures contracts or related option contracts, it will either own or have the right to receive the underlying future or security, or will make deposits to collateralize the position as discussed above. When the Fund uses futures and options on futures as hedging devices, there is a risk that the prices of the securities subject to the futures contracts may not correlate perfectly with the prices of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio. This may cause the futures contract and any related options to react differently than the portfolio securities to market changes. In addition, the Fund could be incorrect in its expectations about the direction or extent of market factors such as stock price movements. In these events, the Fund may lose money on the futures contract or option. It is not certain that a secondary market for positions in futures contracts or for options will exist at all times. Although the Fund will consider liquidity before entering into these transactions, there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange or otherwise will exist for any particular futures contract or option at any particular time. The Fund’s ability to establish and close out futures and options positions depends on this secondary market. Pursuant to a notice of eligibility claiming exclusion from the definition of commodity pool operator filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the National Futures Association on behalf of the Fund, neither the Trust nor the Fund is deemed to be a “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “CEA”), and accordingly, they are not subject to registration or regulation as such under the CEA.  

 

H.         Short Sales. The Fund may make short sales as part of its overall portfolio management strategies or to offset a potential decline in value of a security. The Fund may engage in short sales with respect to various types of securities, including ETFs. A short sale involves the sale of a security that is borrowed from a broker or other institution to complete the sale. The Fund may engage in short sales with respect to securities it owns, as well as securities that it does not own. Short sales expose the Fund to the risk that it will be required to acquire, convert or exchange securities to replace the borrowed securities (also known as “covering” the short position) at a time when the securities sold short have appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund. The Fund’s investment performance may also suffer if the Fund is required to close out a short position earlier than it had intended. The Fund must segregate assets determined to be liquid in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Trustees, or otherwise cover its position in a permissible manner. The Fund will be required to pledge its liquid assets to the broker in order to secure its performance on short sales. As a result, the assets pledged may not be available to meet the Fund’s needs for immediate cash or other liquidity. In addition, the Fund may be subject to expenses related to short sales that are not typically associated with investing in securities directly, such as costs of borrowing and margin account maintenance costs associated with the Fund’s open short positions. These types of short sales expenses are sometimes referred to as the “negative cost of carry,” and will tend to cause the Fund to lose money on a short sale even in instances where the price of the underlying security sold short does not change over the duration of the short sale. Dividend expenses on securities sold short are not covered under the Advisor’s expense limitation agreement with the Fund and, therefore, these expenses will be borne by the shareholders of the Fund.


I.         Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified and, as a result, may have greater volatility than other diversified funds. Because a non-diversified fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in securities of a single company than diversified funds, the performance of that company can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s share price. The Fund will be subject to substantially more investment risk and potential for volatility than a diversified fund because the poor performance of an individual security in the Fund’s portfolio will have a greater negative impact on the Fund’s performance than if the Fund’s assets were diversified among a larger number of portfolio securities. The Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification so as to qualify as a “regulated investment company” for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), in order to avoid liability for federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders. Compliance with diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code could limit the investment flexibility of the Fund.

J.         Master Limited Partnership Risk. The Fund may invest in interests in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). MLP interests trade like shares of stock, and MLPs generally distribute most of their distributable cash flow to investors. Many MLPs operate pipelines transporting crude oil, natural gas and other petroleum products along with associated facilities. Their income generally depends on the volume of the products transported, not on the commodity's price. An MLP is a public limited partnership. Interests in MLPs are traded on an exchange or on the Nasdaq National Market System (the “Nasdaq”). The ability to trade the interests provides liquidity that is not present with conventional private limited partnerships, but those interests are less liquid than conventional publicly traded securities. MLPs can be organized for income, capital gains or tax shelter purposes. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns. Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the use of MLPs could enhance or harm the overall performance of the Fund.

 


K.         Preferred Stock. The Fund may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stock is a form of equity ownership in a corporation. The dividend on a preferred stock is a fixed payment which the corporation is not legally bound to pay. Certain classes of preferred stock are convertible, meaning the preferred stock is convertible into shares of common stock of the issuer. By holding convertible preferred stock, the Fund can receive a steady stream of dividends and still have the option to convert the preferred stock to common stock.

L.          Illiquid Securities. The Fund may invest in illiquid securities (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable). Illiquid securities include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act but that are deemed to be illiquid; and repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days. However, the Fund will not acquire illiquid securities if, as a result, such securities would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund's net assets. The Board of Trustees has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which securities are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation. Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell.

Illiquid securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid securities or the depreciation of liquid securities, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid securities, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Fund will take such steps as is deemed advisable, if any, to protect liquidity.

 

M.         Temporary Investments. To maintain cash for redemptions and distributions and for temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in money market mutual funds and in investment grade short-term fixed income securities including short-term U.S. government securities, negotiable certificates of deposit, commercial paper, banker's acceptances and repurchase agreements. The Fund may also invest in futures, options, shorts and foreign currency hedging as a defensive measure. To the extent that the Fund engages in a temporary, defensive strategy, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

Although the Fund generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when investment considerations warrant such action. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is a measure of the Fund’s portfolio activity, and is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of securities by the average value of the portfolio securities held during the period. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions. Although the Fund’s annual portfolio turnover rate cannot be accurately predicted, it is anticipated that the Fund will experience a portfolio turnover rate above 100%.


INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

Fundamental. The investment limitations described below have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund and are fundamental (“Fundamental”), i.e., they may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. As used in the Prospectus and this SAI, the term “majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund” means the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented at such meeting; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

1.         Borrowing Money. The Fund will not borrow money, except from: (a) a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Fund’s total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that the Fund has an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings and repurchase commitments of the Fund pursuant to reverse repurchase transactions.

2.         Senior Securities. The Fund will not issue senior securities. This limitation is not applicable to activities that may be deemed to involve the issuance or sale of a senior security by the Fund, provided that the Fund’s engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the SEC or its staff.

3.         Underwriting. The Fund will not act as underwriter of securities issued by other persons. This limitation is not applicable to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities (including restricted securities), the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under certain federal securities laws.

4.         Real Estate. The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities that are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from investing in mortgage related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including real estate investment trusts).

5.         Commodities. The Fund will not purchase or sell commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from purchasing or selling options or futures contracts, from investing in securities or other instruments backed by commodities or from investing in companies that are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities.

6.         Loans. The Fund will not make loans to other persons, except: (a) by loaning portfolio securities; (b) by engaging in repurchase agreements; or (c) by purchasing non-publicly offered debt securities. For purposes of this limitation, the term “loans” shall not include the purchase of a portion of an issue of publicly distributed bonds, debentures or other securities.


7.         Concentration. The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any one particular industry. This limitation is not applicable to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities or repurchase agreements with respect thereto.

With respect to the percentages adopted by the Trust as maximum limitations on its investment policies and limitations, an excess above the fixed percentage will not be a violation of the policy or limitation unless the excess results immediately and directly from the acquisition of any security or the action taken. This paragraph does not apply to the borrowing policy set forth in paragraph 1 above. For purposes of the Fund’s concentration policy, the Fund will utilize the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) codes.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing limitations, any investment company, whether organized as a trust, association or corporation, or a personal holding company, may be merged or consolidated with or acquired by the Trust, provided that if such merger, consolidation or acquisition results in an investment in the securities of any issuer prohibited by said paragraphs, the Trust shall, within ninety days after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or acquisition, dispose of all of the securities of such issuer so acquired or such portion thereof as shall bring the total investment therein within the limitations imposed by said paragraphs above as of the date of consummation.

INVESTMENT ADVISOR

The Fund’s Advisor is Long Short Advisors, LLC, 1818 Market Street, Suite 3323, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The Advisor was formed in 2010 by Matthew E. West CIMA, Christopher J. Topolewski ESQ, and Dane Czaplicki CFA, and is controlled by Mr. West. The Fund is the first mutual fund managed by the Advisor. The Advisor provides management services to the Fund pursuant to a management agreement (the “Agreement”) between the Fund and the Advisor.

The Fund’s Sub-Advisor is Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC, 1400 16th Street, Suite 520, Denver CO 80202. The Sub-Advisor was formed in 2004 and is controlled by Jim Hillary. The Sub-Advisor provides investment advisory assistance and day-to-day management of the Fund’s investments pursuant to a subadvisory agreement (the “Subadvisory Agreement”) between the Sub-Advisor and the Advisor. As of December 31, 2009, the Sub-Advisor had approximately $300 million in assets under management.

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Advisor manages the Fund’s investments subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees. As compensation for its management services, the Fund is obligated to pay the Advisor a fee computed and accrued daily and paid monthly at an annual rate of 1.75% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The Advisor pays a portion of its fees to the Sub-Advisor for the Sub-Advisor’s advisory assistance and management services.

The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive or limit its fee and reimburse certain Fund operating expenses, until March 31, 2013, so that the ratio of total annual operating expenses does not exceed 2.50%. This operating expense limitation does not apply to: (i) interest, (ii) taxes, (iii) brokerage commissions, (iv) other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, (v) other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, (vi) dividend expense on short sales, and (vii) expenses that the Fund has incurred but did not actually pay because of an expense offset arrangement, if applicable, incurred by the Fund in any fiscal year. The operating expense limitation also excludes any “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses represent the pro rata expense indirectly incurred by the Fund as a result of investing in other investment companies, including ETFs, closed-end funds and money market funds that have their own expenses. The Advisor may be entitled to the reimbursement of any fees waived or expenses reimbursed pursuant to the agreement provided overall expenses fall below the limitations set forth above. The Advisor may recoup the sum of all fees previously waived or expenses reimbursed during any of the previous three (3) years, less any reimbursement previously paid, provided total expenses do not exceed the limitation set forth above.


The Advisor retains the right to use the name “Long Short Advisors” in connection with another investment company or business enterprise with which the Advisor is or may become associated. The Trust’s right to use the name “Long Short Advisors” automatically ceases 90 days after termination of the Agreement and may be withdrawn by the Advisor on 90 days’ written notice.

The Advisor may make payments to banks or other financial institutions that provide shareholder services and administer shareholder accounts. If a bank or other financial institution were prohibited from continuing to perform all or a part of such services, management of the Fund believes that there would be no material impact on the Fund or shareholders. Banks and other financial institutions may charge their customers fees for offering these services to the extent permitted by applicable regulatory authorities, and the overall return to those shareholders availing themselves of the bank services will be lower than to those shareholders who do not. The Fund may from time to time purchase securities issued by banks and other financial institutions that provide such services; however, in selecting investments for the Fund, no preference will be shown for such securities.


About the Portfolio Managers

Jim Hillary is primarily responsible for managing the Fund (“Portfolio Manager”). As of December 31, 2009, the Portfolio Manager was responsible for managing the following types of accounts, in addition to the Fund:

 

Account Type

Number of Accounts by Account Type

Total Assets By Account Type

Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee

Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee

Registered Investment Companies

0

N/A

N/A

N/A

Pooled Investment Vehicles

3

$300.3 million

3

$237.5 million

Other Accounts

2

$42 million

2

$42 million

 

Compensation: As an equity member of the Sub-Advisor, Mr. Hillary receives compensation in the form of distributions and profits from the Sub-Advisor.

Potential Conflicts of Interest: Potential conflicts of interest may arise because the Portfolio Manager uses the same proprietary investment methodology for the Fund as he uses for other clients. This means that the Portfolio Manager will make the investment strategies used to manage the Fund available to other clients. As a result, there may be circumstances under which the Fund and other clients of the Sub-Advisor may compete in purchasing available investments and, to the extent that the demand exceeds the supply, may result in driving the prices of such investments up, resulting in higher costs to the Fund. There also may be circumstances under which the Portfolio Manager recommends the purchase or sale of various investments to other clients and does not purchase or sell the same investments for the Fund, or purchases or sells an investment for the Fund and does not include such investment in recommendations provided to other clients. This is because the Sub-Advisor’s portfolio recommendations among clients differ based on each client’s investment policy guidelines and/or prevailing market conditions at the time such recommendation is made. The Portfolio Manager may also carry on investment activities for his own account(s) and/or the accounts of family members. As a result of these activities, the Portfolio Manager is engaged in substantial activities other than on behalf of the Fund, and may have differing economic interests in respect of such activities.

Ownership of Fund Shares: As of the date of this SAI, the Portfolio Manager did not own any shares of the Fund.

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

The Board of Trustees supervises the business activities of the Trust and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Dr. Merwyn R. Vanderlind, who is not an “interested person” of the Trust, as that term is defined under the 1940 Act (an “Independent Trustee”). The Board of Trustees has considered the overall leadership structure of the Trust and has established committees designed to facilitate the governance of the Trust by the Trustees generally and the Board’s role with respect to risk oversight specifically. The Trust’s committees will be responsible for certain aspects of risk oversight relating to financial statements, the valuation of the Trust’s assets, and compliance matters. The Board of Trustees also has frequent interaction with the service providers and Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust with respect to risk oversight matters. The Trust has determined that its leadership structure is appropriate based on the size of the Trust, the Board of Trustee’s current responsibilities, each Trustee’s ability to participate in the oversight of the Trust and committee transparency.

 


The Trustees are experienced businesspersons who meet throughout the year to oversee the Trust’s activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the Fund and review performance. Each Trustee serves as a trustee until termination of the Trust unless the Trustee dies, resigns, retires or is removed.

The following table provides information regarding the Independent Trustees. Based on Dr. Vanderlind’s experience described below, the Trust concluded that he should serve as a Trustee.

Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust**, Term of Position with Trust

Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years and Other Directorships

Dr. Merwyn R. Vanderlind, 73, Independent Trustee, August 2008 to present.

Retired; Consultant to Battelle Memorial Institute on business investments from 2001 to 2003; Formerly employed with Battelle Memorial Institute from 1966 to 2003 in various positions, including the Executive Vice President of Battelle Institute from 1991 to 2001, General Manager from 1985 to 1991, Director of the Battelle Industrial Technology Center (Geneva, Switzerland) from 1983 to 1985, and Practicing Researcher from 1966 to 1983.

 

*

The address for each trustee and officer is 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208.

 

**

As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 3 series.

 

The Trust’s Audit Committee consists of the Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the Fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, its internal controls and, as appropriate, the internal controls of certain service providers; overseeing the quality and objectivity of the Fund’s financial statements and the independent audit of the financial statements; and acting as a liaison between the Fund’s independent auditors and the full Board of Trustees.

The Pricing Committee of the Board of Trustees is responsible for reviewing and approving the Advisor’s fair valuation determinations, if any. The members of the Pricing Committee are all of the Trustees, except that any one member of the Pricing Committee constitutes a quorum for purposes of reviewing and approving a fair value.

The following table provides information regarding the other Officers of the Trust.

 

 

 


 

Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust,** Term of Position with Trust

Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years and Other Directorships

R. Jeffrey Young, ___, Principal Executive Officer and President, February 2010 to present.

John C. Swhear, 48, Chief Compliance Officer, AML Officer and Vice President, August 2008 to present.

Vice President of Legal Administration and Compliance for Unified Fund Services, Inc., the Trust’s administrator, since April 2007; Chief Compliance Officer of Unified Financial Securities, Inc., the Trust’s distributor, since May 2007; Senior Vice President of the Unified Series Trust since May 2007; Employed in various positions with American United Life Insurance Company from 1983 to April 2007, including: Associate General Counsel, April 2007; Investment Advisor Chief Compliance Officer, June 2004 to April 2007; Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors, December 2002 to April 2007; Chief Compliance Officer of OneAmerica Funds, Inc., June 2004 to April 2007; Chief Counsel and Secretary, OneAmerica Securities, Inc., December 2002 to April 2007.

Carol J. Highsmith, 45, Vice President, August 2008 to present.

Employed in various positions with Unified Fund Services, Inc., the Trust’s administrator, since November of 1994; currently Vice President of Legal Administration.

William J. Murphy, 46,

Treasurer, December 2009 to present

Manager of Fund Administration for Unified Fund Services, Inc., the Trust’s administrator, since October 2007; Assistant Treasurer of Unified Series Trust since February 2008; Employed in various positions with American United Life Insurance Company from March 1987 to October 2007.

Heather Bonds, 34, Secretary, August 2008 to present.

Employed in various positions with Unified Fund Services, Inc., the Trust’s administrator, since January 2004 and from December 1999 to January 2002, including: Manager of Board Relations since March 2008 and Supervisor of Fund Administration from 2004 to 2006; Secretary of the Unified Series Trust from July 2005 to present; Assistant Secretary of Dean Family of Funds from August 2004 to March 2007; Assistant Secretary of the Unified Series Trust from September 2004 to June 2005; Secretary of AmeriPrime Advisers Trust from July 2005 to September 2005, Assistant Secretary from September 2004 to June 2005; Assistant Secretary of AmeriPrime Funds from September 2004 to July 2005; Assistant Secretary of CCMI Funds from September 2004 to March 2005; and Regional Administrative Assistant of The Standard Register Company from February 2003 to January 2004. Currently Secretary of the Unified Series Trust.

 

*

The address for each trustee and officer is 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208.

 

**

As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 3 series.

 


The table below shows for each Trustee, the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee, and the aggregate value of all investments in equity securities of the Funds of the Trust, as of December 31, 2009 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; and E = over $100,000.

Name of Trustee

Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Registered Investment Companies Overseen by the Trustees in Family of Investment Companies

Non-Interested Trustees

Dr. Merwyn R. Vanderlind

A

A

 

Compensation. Set forth below are estimates of the annual compensation to be paid to the Trustees by the Fund on an individual basis and by the Trust on an aggregate basis. Trustees’ fees and expenses are Trust expenses and the Fund incurs its pro rata share of expenses based on the number of existing series in the Trust. As a result, the amount paid by the Fund will increase or decrease as series are added or removed from the Trust.

Independent Trustees

Aggregate Compensation

from the Fund

Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Fund Expenses

Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement

Total Compensation from Trust*

Dr. Merwyn R. Vanderlind

$1334

$0

$0

$4000

 

As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 3 series. Amounts given are estimates for the Fund’s initial fiscal period ended December 31, 2010.

 

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of such control. As a controlling shareholder, each of these persons could control the outcome of any proposal submitted to the shareholders for approval, including changes to the Fund’s fundamental policies or the terms of the management agreement with the Advisor. As of the date of this SAI, the Trustees and officers of the Trust own beneficially none of the outstanding shares of the Fund. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had no principal shareholders or control persons.

ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

Customer identification and verification is part of the Fund’s overall obligation to prevent money laundering under federal law. The Trust has, on behalf of the Fund, adopted an anti-money laundering compliance program designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or financing of terrorist activities (the “AML Compliance Program”). The Trust has delegated the responsibility to implement the AML Compliance Program to the Fund’s transfer agent, Unified Fund Services, Inc., subject to oversight by the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer and, ultimately, by the Board of Trustees.


When you open an account with the Fund, the Fund’s transfer agent will request that you provide your name, physical address, date of birth, and Social Security number or tax identification number. You may also be asked for other information that, in the transfer agent’s discretion, will allow the Fund to verify your identity. Entities are also required to provide additional documentation. This information will be verified to ensure the identity of all persons opening an account with the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to (i) refuse, cancel or rescind any purchase or exchange order, (ii) freeze any account and/or suspend account activities, or (iii) involuntarily redeem your account in cases of threatening conduct or suspected fraudulent or illegal activity. These actions will be taken when, in the sole discretion of the Fund’s transfer agent, they are deemed to be in the best interest of the Fund, or in cases where the Fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental or law enforcement authority.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

Subject to policies established by the Board of Trustees, the Sub-Advisor is responsible for the Fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the Fund’s portfolio transactions. The Sub-Advisor will place all orders either directly with the issuer or through a universe of brokers or dealers approved by the Advisor. In placing portfolio transactions, the Sub-Advisor seeks the best qualitative execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), the execution capability, financial responsibility and responsiveness of the broker or dealer and the brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Sub-Advisor generally seeks favorable prices and commission rates that are reasonable in relation to the benefits received.

The Sub-Advisor is specifically authorized to select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage and research services to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which the Sub-Advisor exercises investment discretion and to pay such brokers or dealers a commission in excess of the commission another broker or dealer would charge if the Sub-Advisor determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided. The determination may be viewed in terms of a particular transaction or the Sub-Advisor’s overall responsibilities with respect to the Fund and to other accounts over which it exercises investment discretion.

Research services include supplemental research, securities and economic analyses, statistical services and information with respect to the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities and analyses of reports concerning performance of accounts. The research services and other information furnished by brokers through whom the Fund effects securities transactions may also be used by the Sub-Advisor in servicing all of its accounts. Similarly, research and information provided by brokers or dealers serving other clients may be useful to the Sub-Advisor in connection with its services to the Fund. Although research services and other information are useful to the Fund and the Sub-Advisor, it is not possible to place a dollar value on the research and other information received. It is the opinion of the Board of Trustees and the Sub-Advisor that the review and study of the research and other information will not reduce the overall cost to the Sub-Advisor of performing its duties to the Fund under the Agreement.


Over the counter transactions will be placed either directly with principal market makers or with broker dealers, if the same or a better price, including commissions and executions, is available. Fixed income securities are normally purchased directly from the issuer, an underwriter or a market maker. Purchases include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and the purchase price paid to a market maker may include the spread between the bid and asked prices. When the broker acts as agent, a commission will be charged on the transaction; when the broker acts as principal, the markup is included in the bond price.

When the Fund and another of the Sub-Advisor’s clients seek to purchase or sell the same security at or about the same time, the Sub-Advisor may execute the transaction on a combined (“blocked”) basis. Blocked transactions can produce better execution for the Fund because of the increased volume of the transaction. If the entire blocked order is not filled, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price for the security. Similarly, the Fund may not be able to obtain as large an execution of an order to sell, or as high a price for any particular portfolio security, if the other client desires to sell the same portfolio security at the same time. In the event that the entire blocked order is not filled, the purchase or sale will normally be allocated on a pro rata basis.

The Trust, the Distributor, the Sub-Advisor and the Advisor have each adopted a Code of Ethics (each a “Code” and collectively, the “Codes”) pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, and the Sub-Advisor’s and Advisor’s Code of Ethics also conform to Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. The personnel subject to the Codes are permitted to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. You may obtain a copy of the Codes from the Fund, free of charge, by calling the Fund at [(___) ___-____]. You may also obtain copies of the Trust’s Code from documents filed with the SEC and available on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Fund is required to include a schedule of portfolio holdings in its annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, which is sent to shareholders within 60 days of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters and which is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR. The Fund also is required to file a schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q within 60 days of the end of the first and third fiscal quarters. The Fund must provide a copy of the complete schedule of portfolio holdings as filed with the SEC to any shareholder of the Fund, upon request, free of charge. This policy is applied uniformly to all shareholders of the Fund without regard to the type of requesting shareholder (i.e., regardless of whether the shareholder is an individual or institutional investor).

The Fund releases portfolio holdings to third party servicing agents on a daily basis in order for those parties to perform their duties on behalf of the Fund. These third party servicing agents include the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, Distributor, Transfer Agent, Fund Accounting Agent, Administrator and Custodian. The Fund also may disclose portfolio holdings, as needed, to auditors, legal counsel, proxy voting services (if applicable), printers, pricing services, parties to merger and reorganization agreements and their agents, and prospective or newly hired investment advisors or sub-advisors. The lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed will vary based on the identity of the party to whom the information is disclosed. For instance, the information may be provided to auditors within days of the end of an annual period, while the information may be given to legal counsel or prospective advisors at any time. This information is disclosed to all such third parties under conditions of confidentiality. “Conditions of confidentiality” include (i) confidentiality clauses in written agreements, (ii) confidentiality implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g., attorney-client relationship), (iii) confidentiality required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custodial relationships) or (iv) understandings or expectations between the parties that the information will be kept confidential.


Additionally, the Fund has arrangements pursuant to which it may release portfolio holdings to Morningstar, Inc., Lipper, Inc., Bloomberg, Standard & Poor’s, Thompson Financial and Vickers-Stock (“Rating Agencies”) in order for those organizations to assign a rating or ranking to the Fund. In these instances portfolio holdings will be supplied within approximately 25 days after the end of the month. The Rating Agencies may make the Fund’s top portfolio holdings available on their websites and may make the Fund’s complete portfolio holdings available to their subscribers for a fee. Neither the Fund, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor nor any of their affiliates receive any portion of this fee. Information released to Rating Agencies will not released under conditions of confidentiality nor is it subject to prohibitions on trading based on the information. The Fund also may post its complete portfolio holdings to its website, if applicable, within approximately 25 days after the end of the month. The information will remain posted on the website until replaced by the information for the succeeding month. If the Fund does not have a website or the website is for some reason inoperable, the information will be supplied no more frequently then quarterly and on a delayed basis.

Except as described above, the Fund is prohibited from entering into any arrangements with any person to make available information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings without the prior authorization of the Chief Compliance Officer and the specific approval of the Board. The Advisor and the Sub-Advisor must submit any proposed arrangement pursuant to which the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor intends to disclose the Fund’s portfolio holdings to the Board, which will review such arrangement to determine whether the arrangement is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. Additionally, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, and any of their respective affiliated persons are prohibited from receiving compensation or other consideration for themselves or on behalf of the Fund as a result of disclosing the Fund’s portfolio holdings. Finally, the Fund will not disclose portfolio holdings as described above to third parties that the Fund knows will use the information for personal securities transactions.

The Trust maintains written policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of its portfolio holdings to ensure that such disclosure is for a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders. The Board reviews these policies and procedures on an annual basis. Compliance will be periodically assessed by the Board in connection with a report from the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer. There may be instances where the interests of the Trust’s shareholders respecting the disclosure of information about portfolio holdings may conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor, any principal underwriter for the Trust or an affiliated person of the Trust (including such affiliated person’s investment advisor or principal underwriter). In such situations, the conflict must be disclosed to the Board.


PROXY VOTING POLICY

The Trust, the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor each have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in shareholders’ best interests. As a brief summary, the Trust’s policy delegates responsibility regarding proxy voting to the Sub-Advisor, subject to the Advisor’s oversight and the supervision of the Board of Trustees. The Sub-Advisor votes the Fund’s proxies in accordance with its proxy voting policy, subject to the provisions of the Trust’s policy regarding conflicts of interests. The Fund’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedure is attached as Exhibit A. The Sub-Advisor’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedure is attached as Exhibit B.

The Trust’s policy provides that, if a conflict of interest between the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor or their respective affiliates and the Fund arises with respect to any proxy, the Advisor and/or the Sub-Advisor must fully disclose the conflict to the Board of Trustees and vote the proxy in accordance with the Board’s instructions. The Board shall make the proxy voting decision that in its judgment, after reviewing the recommendation of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor, is most consistent with the Sub-Advisor’s proxy voting policies and in the best interests of Fund shareholders.

You may also obtain a copy of the Trust’s and the Sub-Advisor’s proxy voting policy by calling Shareholder Services at [(___) ___-____] to request a copy, or by writing to Unified Fund Services, Inc., the Fund’s transfer agent, at 2960 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208. A copy of the policies will be mailed to you within three days of receipt of your request. You also may obtain a copy from Fund documents filed with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. A copy of the votes cast by the Fund with respect to portfolio securities for each year ended June 30th will be filed by the Fund with the SEC on Form N-PX. The Fund’s proxy voting record will be available to shareholders free of charge upon request by calling or writing the Fund as described above or from the SEC’s web site.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The net asset value of the shares of the Fund is determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the Trust, its custodian, and transfer agent are open for business and on any other day on which there is sufficient trading in the Fund’s securities to materially affect the net asset value. The Trust is open for business on every day on which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. The NYSE is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. For a description of the methods used to determine the net asset value (share price), see “Determination of Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus.

 


Equity securities generally are valued by using market quotations furnished by a pricing service when the Sub-Advisor believes such prices accurately reflect the fair market value of such securities. Securities that are traded on any stock exchange are generally valued by the pricing service at the last quoted sale price. Lacking a last sale price, an exchange-traded security is generally valued by the pricing service at its last bid price. Securities traded in the NASDAQ over-the-counter market are generally valued by the pricing service at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. When market quotations are not readily available, when the Sub-Advisor determines that the market quotation or the price provided by the pricing service does not accurately reflect the current market value or when restricted or illiquid securities are being valued, such securities are valued at a fair value as determined by the Sub-Advisor in good faith according to procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees annually approves the pricing services used by the fund accounting agent. Fair valued securities held by the Fund (if any) are reviewed by the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis.

The Fund’s net asset value per share is computed by dividing the value of the securities held by the Fund plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares in the Fund outstanding at such time, as shown below:

 

Net Assets  

= Net Asset Value Per Share

Shares Outstanding

 

REDEMPTION IN-KIND

The Fund does not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. However, if the redemption amount is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net asset value, pursuant to an election under Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net asset value in securities instead of cash. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, a shareholder may incur additional expenses such as the payment of brokerage commissions on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund.

STATUS AND TAXATION OF THE FUND

The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders. The discussion reflects applicable federal income tax laws of the U.S. as of the date of this SAI, which tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. income, estate or gift tax, or foreign, state or local tax concerns affecting the Fund and its shareholders (including shareholders owning large positions in the Fund). The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisors to determine the tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.

In addition, no attempt is made to address tax concerns applicable to an investor with a special tax status such as a financial institution, real estate investment trust, insurance company, regulated investment company (“RIC”), individual retirement account, other tax-exempt entity, dealer in securities or non-U.S. investor. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax (“AMT”). Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes shares of the Fund are held by U.S. shareholders and that such shares are held as capital assets.


A U.S. shareholder is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents);

 

a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. shareholders have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust have made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.

 

A “Non-U.S. shareholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. shareholder. If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of the Fund, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership.

Intended Election to Be Taxed as a RIC

The Fund was organized as a series of a Delaware statutory trust, and in its first taxable year after it becomes registered under the 1940 Act it intends to elect to be treated as, and to qualify each year thereafter for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). There can be no assurance that it actually will so qualify. In order to so qualify, the Fund must satisfy certain requirements regarding its source of income, diversification of assets and distribution of earnings that are discussed further below. In addition, by the end of the Fund’s first taxable year as a RIC, it also must eliminate any earnings and profits accumulated before the intended RIC election became effective. The Fund intends to accomplish this by paying its shareholders one or more cash dividends representing substantially all of its accumulated earnings and profits, if any, for the period from the Fund’s inception through the date on which the intended RIC election becomes effective. The amount of these dividends will be based on a number of factors, including the Fund’s results of operations through the date on which the intended RIC election becomes effective. The Fund will need to manage its cash or have access to cash to enable it to pay any such dividend or dividends. Any dividend of accumulated earnings and profits would be taxable to shareholders as discussed further below. These dividends, if any, would be in addition to the dividends the Fund intends to pay to satisfy the RIC distribution of earnings requirement.

 


The Fund anticipates that, on the effective date of the RIC election, it may hold assets (including intangible assets not reflected on the balance sheet, such as goodwill) with “built-in gain,” which are assets whose fair market value as of the effective date of the RIC election exceeds their tax basis. In general, any entity taxable as a corporation that converts to taxation as a RIC must pay corporate-level federal income tax on any of the net built-in gains it recognizes during the 10-year period beginning on the effective date of its election to be treated as a RIC. Alternatively, the corporation may elect to recognize all of its built-in gain at the time of its conversion and pay such tax on the built-in gain at that time. The Fund may or may not make this election. If it does make this election, the Fund will mark its portfolio to market at the time of the intended RIC election, pay corporate-level federal income tax on any resulting taxable income, and distribute resulting earnings at that time or before the end of the first taxable year in which the Fund qualifies as a RIC. If the Fund does not make this election, it will pay such corporate-level federal income tax as is payable at the time the built-in gains are recognized (which generally will be the years in which the built-in gain assets are actually sold in taxable transactions). The amount of this tax will vary depending on the assets that are actually sold by the Fund in this 10-year period, the actual amount of the net built-in gain or loss present in those assets as of the effective date of the RIC election and effective tax rates. Recognized built-in gains that are ordinary in character and the excess of short-term capital gains over long-term capital losses will be included in the Fund’s investment company taxable income, and generally the Fund must distribute annually at least 90% of any such amounts (net of corporate taxes paid on those gains) in order to be eligible for RIC tax treatment. Any such amount distributed will be taxable to the shareholders as ordinary income. Built-in gains (net of taxes) that are recognized within the 10-year period and that are long term capital gains will also be distributed (or deemed distributed) annually to the shareholders. Any such amount distributed (or deemed distributed) will be taxable to the shareholders as long-term or short-term capital gains.

Taxation as a RIC

The Fund intends to qualify and remain qualified as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code. The Fund will qualify as a RIC if, among other things, it meets the source-of-income and the asset-diversification requirements. With respect to the source-of-income requirement, the Fund must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income (including tax-exempt interest) from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such shares, securities or currencies and (ii) net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership.” A “qualified publicly traded partnership” is generally defined as a publicly traded partnership under Internal Revenue Code section 7704. However, for these purposes, a qualified publicly traded partnership does not include a publicly traded partnership if 90% or more of its income is described in (i) above. Income derived from a partnership (other than a qualified publicly traded partnership) or trust is qualifying income to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership or trust which would be qualifying income if realized by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the partnership or trust.

With respect to the asset-diversification requirement, the Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs of (a) one issuer, (b) two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.


If the Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes to its shareholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of the sum of (i) its “investment company taxable income” as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code (which includes, among other things, dividends, taxable interest, the excess of any net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses and certain net foreign exchange gains as reduced by certain deductible expenses) without regard to the deduction for dividends paid, and (ii) the excess of its gross tax-exempt interest, if any, over certain deductions attributable to such interest that are otherwise disallowed, the Fund will be relieved of U.S. federal income tax on any income of the Fund, including long-term capital gains, distributed to shareholders. However, any ordinary income or capital gain retained by the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate federal income tax rates (currently at a maximum rate of 35%). The Fund intends to distribute at least annually substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest, and net capital gain.

The Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on the portion of its undistributed ordinary income with respect to each calendar year and undistributed capital gains if it fails to meet certain distribution requirements with respect to the one-year period ending on October 31 in that calendar year. In order to avoid the 4% federal excise tax, the required minimum distribution is generally equal to the sum of (i) 98% of the Fund’s ordinary income (computed on a calendar year basis), (ii) 98% of the Fund’s capital gain net income (generally computed for the one-year period ending on October 31) and (iii) any income realized, but not distributed, from preceding years. The Fund generally intends to make distributions in a timely manner in an amount at least equal to the required minimum distribution and therefore, under normal market conditions, does not expect to be subject to this excise tax.

The Fund may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which it does not receive cash. For example, if the Fund holds debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with payment in kind interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or that are issued with warrants), the Fund must include in income each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by the Fund in the same taxable year. Because any original issue discount accrued will be included in the Fund’s “investment company taxable income” (discussed below) for the year of accrual, the Fund may be required to make a distribution to its shareholders to satisfy the distribution requirement, even though it will not have received an amount of cash that corresponds with the income earned.

 


Gain or loss realized by the Fund from the sale or exchange of warrants acquired by the Fund as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long the Fund held a particular warrant. Upon the exercise of a warrant acquired by the Fund, the Fund’s tax basis in the stock purchased under the warrant will equal the sum of the amount paid for the warrant plus the strike price paid on the exercise of the warrant. Except as set forth in “Failure to Qualify as a RIC,” the remainder of this discussion assumes that the Fund will qualify as a RIC for each taxable year.

Failure to Qualify as a RIC

If the Fund is unable to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement or otherwise fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it will be subject to corporate level income tax on all of its income and gain, regardless of whether or not such income was distributed. Distributions to the Fund’s shareholders of such income and gain will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In such event, the Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, would constitute ordinary dividends, which would generally be eligible for the dividends received deduction available to corporate shareholders, and non-corporate shareholders would generally be able to treat such distributions as “qualified dividend income” eligible for reduced rates of U.S. federal income taxation in taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2010, provided in each case that certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.

Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholders’ tax basis in their Fund shares, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. To qualify as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the source-of-income, the asset diversification, and the annual distribution requirements for that year and dispose of any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under the Internal Revenue Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that re-qualify as a RIC no later than the second year following the non-qualifying year, the Fund would be subject to tax on any unrealized built-in gains in the assets held by it during the period in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC that are recognized within the subsequent 10 years, unless the Fund made a special election to pay corporate-level tax on such built-in gain at the time of its re-qualification as a RIC.


Taxation for U.S. Shareholders

Distributions paid to U.S. shareholders by the Fund from its investment company taxable income (which is, generally, the Fund’s ordinary income plus net realized short-term capital gains in excess of net realized long-term capital losses) are generally taxable to U.S. shareholders as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Such distributions (if designated by the Fund) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders under Section 243 of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent that the Fund’s income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, excluding distributions from tax-exempt organizations, exempt farmers’ cooperatives or real estate investment trusts or (ii) in the case of individual shareholders for taxable years beginning on or prior to December 31, 2010, as qualified dividend income eligible to be taxed at reduced rates under Section 1(h)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code (which provides for a maximum 15% rate) to the extent that the Fund receives qualified dividend income, and provided in each case certain holding period and other requirements are met. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations (e.g., generally, foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualified comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States, or the stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). A qualified foreign corporation generally excludes any foreign corporation, which for the taxable year of the corporation in which the dividend was paid, or the preceding taxable year, is a passive foreign investment company. Distributions made to a U.S. shareholder from an excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses (“capital gain dividends”), including capital gain dividends credited to such shareholder but retained by the Fund, are taxable to such shareholder as long-term capital gain if they have been properly designated by the Fund, regardless of the length of time such shareholder owned the shares of the Fund. The maximum tax rate on capital gain dividends received by individuals is generally 15% for such gain realized before January 1, 2011. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits will be treated by the U.S. shareholder, first, as a tax-free return of capital, which is applied against and will reduce the adjusted tax basis of the U.S. shareholder’s shares and, after such adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain to the U.S. shareholder (assuming the shares are held as a capital asset). Under current law, the maximum 15% tax rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividend income will cease to apply for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010; beginning in 2011, the maximum rate on long-term capital gains is scheduled to revert to 20%, and all ordinary dividends (including amounts treated as qualified dividends under the law currently in effect) would be taxed as ordinary income. Generally, not later than sixty days after the close of its taxable year, the Fund will provide the shareholders with a written notice designating the amount of any qualified dividend income or capital gain dividends and other distributions.

As a RIC, the Fund will be subject to the AMT, but any items that are treated differently for AMT purposes must be apportioned between the Fund and its shareholders and this may affect the shareholders' AMT liabilities. The Fund intends in general to apportion these items in the same proportion that dividends paid to each shareholder bear to the Fund's taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction.

For purpose of determining (i) whether the annual distribution requirement is satisfied for any year and (ii) the amount of capital gain dividends paid for that year, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If the Fund makes such an election, the U.S. shareholder will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by the U.S. shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.

 


The Fund intends to distribute all realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. If, however, the Fund were to retain any net capital gain, the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the federal income tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If such an event occurs, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, generally be increased by the difference between the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholders.

Sales and other dispositions of the shares of the Fund shares generally are taxable events. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisor with reference to their individual circumstances to determine whether any particular transaction in the shares of the Fund is properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal income tax purposes, as the following discussion assumes, and the tax treatment of any gains or losses recognized in such transactions. The sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund will generally result in capital gain or loss to the shareholder equal to the difference between the amount realized and his adjusted tax basis in the shares sold or exchanged, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) by such shareholder with respect to such shares. A loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund generally will be disallowed if other substantially identical shares are acquired within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the shares are disposed. In such case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Present law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gain of corporations at the rates applicable to ordinary income of corporations. For non-corporate taxpayers, short-term capital gain will currently be taxed at the rate applicable to ordinary income, currently a maximum of 35%, while long-term capital gain generally will be taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. Capital losses are subject to certain limitations.

As described above, the Fund might invest in foreign securities. Accordingly, each Fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes on income from certain foreign securities. This, in turn, could reduce such Fund's distributions paid to the shareholders. If more than 50% of the Fund's total assets at the end of a fiscal year is invested in foreign securities, the Fund may elect to pass through to the shareholders their pro rata share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund. If this election is made, the Fund may report more taxable income to the shareholders than it actually distributes. The shareholders will then be entitled either to deduct their share of these taxes in computing their taxable income, or to claim a foreign tax credit for these taxes against their U.S. federal income tax (subject to limitations for certain shareholders). The Fund will provide the shareholders with the information necessary to claim this deduction or credit on their personal income tax return if the Fund makes this election. A shareholder's use of foreign dividends, designated by a Fund as qualified dividend income subject to taxation at long-term capital gain rates, may reduce the otherwise available foreign tax credits on its federal income tax return. Shareholders in these circumstances should talk with their personal tax advisors about their foreign tax credits and the procedures that they should follow to claim these credits on their personal income tax returns.


The Fund is required in certain circumstances to backup withhold at a current rate of 28% on taxable distributions and certain other payments paid to non-corporate holders of the Fund’s shares who do not furnish the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number (in the case of individuals, their social security number) and certain certifications, or who are otherwise subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld from payments made to you may be refunded or credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS.

The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury regulations in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Fund and its shareholders. These provisions are subject to change by legislative and administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal income, estate or gift taxes, or foreign, state, local taxes or other taxes.

CUSTODIAN

Huntington National Bank, 41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, is Custodian of the Fund’s investments. The Custodian acts as the Fund’s depository, safekeeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect thereto, disburses funds at the Fund’s request and maintains records in connection with its duties. The Custodian’s parent company, Huntington Bancshares, Inc., is also the parent company of Unified Fund Services, Inc. (“Unified”), the Trust’s transfer agent, fund accountant and administrator, and of Unified Financial Securities, Inc. (the “Distributor”), the Trust’s distributor.

For its custodial services, the Custodian receives a monthly fee from the Fund based on the market value of assets under custody. The monthly fee is equal to an annual rate of 0.0125% of the first $75 million of market value; 0.0100% of the next $75 million of market value; and 0.0075% of market value in excess of $150 million. The Custodian also receives various transaction-based fees. Custodial fees are subject to a $250 monthly minimum fee per Fund account.

FUND SERVICES

Unified Fund Services, Inc. (“Unified”), 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208, acts as the Fund’s transfer agent, fund accountant, and administrator. Unified is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares, the parent company of the Custodian and the Distributor. Certain officers of the Trust also are officers of Unified.

Unified maintains the records of each shareholder’s account, answers shareholders’ inquiries concerning their accounts, processes purchases and redemptions of the Fund’s shares, acts as dividend and distribution disbursing agent and performs other transfer agent and shareholder service functions. Unified receives a monthly fee from the Fund of $1.50 per shareholder account (subject to a minimum annual fee of $20,000) for these transfer agency services.

 


In addition, Unified provides the Fund with fund accounting services, which includes certain monthly reports, record-keeping and other management-related services. For its services as fund accountant, Unified receives a monthly fee from the Fund at an annual rate equal to 0.04% of the Fund’s average daily net assets up to $100 million, 0.02% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from $100 million to $250 million, and 0.01% of the Fund’s average daily net assets over $250 million (subject to a minimum annual fee of $25,000).

Unified also provides the Fund with administrative services, including all regulatory reporting and necessary office equipment, personnel and facilities. Unified receives a monthly fee from the Fund equal to an annual rate of 0.09% of the Fund’s average daily net assets under $100 million, 0.06% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from $100 million to $250 million, and 0.030% of the Fund’s average daily net assets over $250 million (subject to a minimum annual fee of $35,000). Unified also receives a compliance program services fee of $900 per month from the Fund

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The firm of BBD, LLP (“BBD”), 1835 Market Street, 26th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, has been selected as independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund for its initial fiscal period ending [_________], 2010. BBD will perform an annual audit of the Fund’s financial statements and will provide financial, tax and accounting consulting services as requested.

LEGAL COUNSEL

The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc., a member firm of The 1940 Act Law Group, 2041 W. 141st Terrace, Suite 119, Leawood, KS 66224, serves as legal counsel for the Trust and Fund.

DISTRIBUTOR

Unified Financial Securities, Inc., 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208 (the “Distributor”), is the exclusive agent for distribution of shares of the Fund. Certain officers of the Trust are also officers of the Distributor. As a result, such persons are affiliates of the Distributor.

The Distributor is obligated to sell the shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis only against purchase orders for the shares. Shares of the Fund are offered to the public on a continuous basis.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Fund recently commenced operations and, as a result, has no financial statements. You can receive free copies of reports (once available), request other information and discuss your questions about the Fund by contacting the Trust directly at:

Unified Fund Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 6110

Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6110

[(___) ___-____]

 


EXHIBIT A

VALUED ADVISERS TRUST

PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Valued Advisers Trust (the “Trust”) is a registered open-end investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”). The Trust offers multiple series (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”). Effective April 14, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted rule and form amendments under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the 1940 Act to require registered management investment companies to provide disclosure about how they vote proxies for their portfolio securities (collectively, the rule and form amendments are referred to herein as the “Proxy Rule”).

Consistent with its fiduciary duties and pursuant to the Proxy Rule, the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has adopted this proxy voting policy on behalf of the Trust (the “Policy”) to reflect its commitment to ensure that proxies are voted in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders. While decisions about how to vote must be determined on a case-by-case basis, proxy voting decisions will be made considering these guidelines and following the procedures recited herein. This policy may be amended, from time to time, as determined by the Board.

The Proxy Rule requires that each series of shares of the Trust listed on Exhibit A, attached hereto, (each a “Fund”), disclose the policies and procedures used to determine how to vote proxies for portfolio securities. The Proxy Rule also requires each Fund to file with the SEC and to make available to their shareholders the specific proxy votes cast for portfolio securities.

Delegation of Proxy Voting Authority to Fund Advisors

The Board believes that the investment advisor (or sub-adviser as the case may be) of each Fund (each an “Advisor”), as the entity that selects the individual securities that comprise its Fund’s portfolio, is the most knowledgeable and best-suited entity to make decisions on how to vote proxies of portfolio companies held by that Fund. Therefore, subject to the oversight of the Board, the Trust shall defer to and rely on the Advisor of each Fund to make decisions on how to cast proxy votes on behalf of such Fund.

The Trust hereby designates the Advisor of each Fund as the entity responsible for exercising proxy voting authority with regard to securities held in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Consistent with its duties under this Policy, each Advisor shall monitor and review corporate transactions of corporations in which the Fund has invested, obtain all information sufficient to allow an informed vote on all proxy solicitations, ensure that all proxy votes are cast in a timely fashion, and maintain all records required to be maintained by the Fund under the Proxy Rule and the 1940 Act. Each Advisor shall perform these duties in accordance with the Advisor’s proxy voting policy (each an “Advisor’s Voting Policy”), a copy of which shall be presented to the Board for its review. Each Advisor shall promptly provide to the Board updates to its proxy voting policy as they are adopted and implemented.

 


The Board, including a majority of the independent trustees of the Board, shall approve each Advisor’s Voting Policy as it relates to each Fund. The Board shall also approve any material changes to the Advisor’s Voting Policy no later than four (4) months after adoption by the Advisor.

Conflict of Interest Transactions

In some instances, an Advisor may be asked to cast a proxy vote that presents a conflict between the interests of a Fund’s shareholders, and those of the Advisor or an affiliated person of the Advisor. In such case, the Advisor is instructed to abstain from making a voting decision and to forward all necessary proxy voting materials to the Trust to enable the Board to make a voting decision. In addition, provided the Advisor is not affiliated with a Fund’s principal underwriter or an affiliated person of the principal underwriter and neither the Fund’s principal underwriter nor an affiliated person of the principal underwriter has influenced the Advisor with respect to a matter to which the Fund is entitled to vote, a vote by the Advisor shall not be considered a conflict between the Fund’s shareholders and the Fund’s principal underwriter or affiliated person of the principal underwriter.

When the Board is required to make a proxy voting decision, only the Trustees without a conflict of interest with regard to the security in question or the matter to be voted upon shall be permitted to participate in the decision of how the Fund’s vote will be cast. In the event that the Board is required to vote a proxy because an Advisor has a conflict of interest with respect to the proxy, the Board will vote such proxy in accordance with the Advisor’s proxy voting policy, to the extent consistent with the shareholders’ best interests, as determined by the Board in its discretion. The Board shall notify the Advisor of its final decision on the matter and the Advisor shall vote in accordance with the Board’s decision.

Oversight of the Advisors’ Proxy Voting Compliance Activities

Each Advisor shall present to the Trust’s administrator a quarterly report summarizing its proxy voting compliance activities for the preceding quarter. The administrator shall review the report to ensure compliance with the Proxy Rule and with this Policy, and shall determine the steps and procedures, if any, that must be undertaken or adopted by the Trust and any Advisor to ensure further compliance with the relevant laws.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policy and Records Available to Fund Shareholders

Each Fund shall disclose this Policy, or a description of the Policy, to its shareholders by including it as an appendix to its Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) on Form N-1A. Each Fund will also notify its shareholders in the Fund’s shareholder reports that a description of this Policy is available upon request, without charge, by calling a specified toll-free telephone number. The Fund will send this description of the Policy within three business days of receipt of any shareholder request, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.

In accordance with the Proxy Rule, each Advisor shall provide a complete voting record, for each series of the Trust for which it acts as advisor, to the Trust’s administrator within 15 days following the end of each calendar quarter. The Trust’s administrator will file Form N-PX with the SEC on an annual basis with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than August 31st of each year.


Each Fund, subject to oversight of the Board, shall disclose the Fund’s complete proxy voting record to its shareholders on Form N-PX, as required by the Proxy Rule, for the twelve-month period ended June 30th. Each Fund shall disclose the following information on Form N-PX for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at any shareholder meeting held during the period covered by the report and with respect to which to the Fund was entitled to vote: (i) The name of the issuer of the portfolio security; (ii) The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means); (iii) The Council on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (“CUSIP”) number for the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means); (iv) The shareholder meeting date; (v) A brief identification of the matter voted on; (vi) Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder; (vii) Whether the Fund cast its vote on the matter; (viii) How the Fund cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors); and (ix) Whether the Fund cast its vote for or against management.

Each Fund shall make its proxy voting record available to shareholders either upon request or by making available an electronic version on or through the Fund’s website, if applicable. If the Fund discloses its proxy voting record on or through its website, the Fund shall post the information disclosed in the Fund’s most recently filed report on Form N-PX on the website beginning the same day it files such information with the SEC.

Each Fund shall also include in its annual reports, semi-annual reports and SAI a statement that information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30th is available (1) without charge upon request, by calling a specified toll-free (or collect) telephone number, or (if applicable) on or through the Fund’s website at a specified Internet address; and (2) on the SEC’s website. If the Fund discloses that its proxy voting record is available by calling a toll-free (or collect) telephone number, it shall send the information disclosed in the Fund’s most recently filed report on Form N-PX within three business days of receipt of a request for this information, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.

If a Fund has a website, the Fund may post of copy of its Advisor’s proxy voting policy and this Policy on such website. A copy of such policies and of each Fund’s proxy voting record shall also be made available, without charge, upon request of any shareholder of the Fund, by calling the applicable Fund’s toll-free telephone number as printed in the Fund’s prospectus. The Trust’s administrator shall reply to any Fund shareholder request within three business days of receipt of the request, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.

 


EXHIBIT B

Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The Manger (the “Manger”) of Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC (“ICAP”) has determined that it is in the best interests of its clients (each, a “Client”) to adopt the following policy and procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by a Client.

Introduction

These Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Procedures”) apply to the voting of proxies by ICAP for Client accounts over which our firm has proxy voting discretion.

 

The right to vote a proxy with respect to portfolio securities held by a Client is an asset of such Client. The Adviser acts as fiduciary of the Fund and must vote proxies in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. In discharging this fiduciary duty, ICAP must maintain and adhere to its policies and procedures for addressing conflicts of interest and must vote proxies in a manner substantially consistent with its policies, procedures and guidelines.

 

Our fundamental guideline is to make every effort to ensure that all proxies are voted, and that the manner in which proxies are voted is in the best interest of Clients/beneficiaries and the value of their investment.

 

Voting Responsibility

 

Under the overall supervision of our Chief Compliance Officer, our Co-Portfolio Managers have the responsibility for voting proxies received by ICAP.

 

Proxy Voting Guidelines

 

Proxy proposals we receive will generally be voted in accordance with the recommendation(s) of the individual company’s management (“with management”).

 

In certain instances, when determined appropriate by our Co-Portfolio Managers, ICAP may vote contrary to the management if such action is in the best interest of Clients/beneficiaries. In the exercise of such discretion, we may take into account a wide variety of factors relating to the matter under consideration, the nature of the proposal, and the company involved. For example, a particular proposal could, in our opinion, present an unacceptable investment risk and hence should not be supported. Additionally, special circumstances or instructions from Clients may justify casting different votes for different Clients/beneficiaries with respect to the same proxy vote.

 

When proxies are voted contrary to those of management, the Co-Portfolio Managers will report such to our Chief Compliance Officer. The rationale for such voting will be documented in writing and this record retained in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements contained herein (See “Proxy Voting Records”).


 

Conflicts of Interest

 

ICAP may occasionally be subject to conflicts of interest in the voting of proxies due to business or personal relationships it maintains with persons having an interest in the outcome of certain votes. For example, we may provide investment management services to accounts owned or controlled by companies whose management is soliciting proxies.

 

ICAP may also occasionally have business or personal relationships with other proponents of proxy proposals, participants in proxy contests, corporate directors or candidates for directorships.

 

If at anytime we become aware of any potential or actual conflict of interest relating to a particular proxy proposal, such will promptly be evaluated by our Chief Compliance Officer. Conflicts of interest will be handled, as the Chief Compliance Officer deems appropriate, giving consideration to the type and materiality of the conflict. Appropriate actions may include:

 

Voting in accordance with management.

Clients may be informed of the conflict and given the opportunity of voting of the proxy.

If, in the judgment of the Co-Portfolio Manager, there is a compelling interest to vote contrary to management, this will be reported to our Chief Compliance Officer. Such conclusion may also be reported to Clients/beneficiaries.

 

Actions taken other than voting in accordance with management will be documented in writing and this record retained in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements contained herein (See “Proxy Voting Records”).

 

Client Disclosures

 

A description in summary form of these Procedures will be provided to all new and existing Clients, and a complete copy will be provided without charge upon their request. In addition, copies of voting records as they relate to particular Clients will be provided to those Clients upon their specific request. Our policy is not to disclose proxy voting records to unaffiliated third parties or special interest groups.

 

ERISA Accounts

 

Plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), are to be administered consistent with the terms of the governing plan documents and applicable provisions of ERISA. In cases where sole proxy voting discretion rests with ICAP, these Procedures will be followed, subject to the fiduciary responsibility standards of ERISA. These standards generally require fiduciaries to act prudently and to discharge their duties solely in the interests of participants and beneficiaries. The Department of Labor has indicated that the voting decisions of ERISA fiduciaries must generally focus on the course that would most likely increase the value of the stock being voted.


 

Consistent with Labor Department positions, our policy is to follow the provisions of a plan’s governing documents in the voting of employer securities, unless we determine that to do so would breach our fiduciary duties under ERISA.

 

Special Situations

 

ICAP may choose not to vote proxies in certain situations or for certain accounts. For example, ICAP may choose not to vote when:

 

a Client has informed us that they wish to retain the right to vote the proxy; then, time permitting, we will instruct the custodian to send the proxy material directly to the Client;

in our opinion, the cost of voting would exceed any anticipated benefit to the Client (for example, certain foreign securities may become subject to temporary transfer restrictions if a shareholder elects to vote by proxy connection with a shareholder meeting);

a proxy is received for a Client account that has been terminated; or

a proxy is received for a security we no longer manage (i.e., had previously sold the entire position).

 

Proxy Voting Records

 

ICAP will maintain the following records required by these Procedures or as may be required by federal rules and regulations:

 

a copy of all policies and procedures;

a copy of each proxy statement received regarding Client’s securities;

a record of votes cast on behalf of Clients;

a copy of any document we create material to making a decision on how to vote proxies on behalf of Clients; and

a copy of each Client request for information on how ICAP voted proxies on behalf of the requesting Client, and a copy or memorandum of our response on how we voted proxies on behalf of the requesting Client.

 

These records will be retained for such period of time as required to comply with applicable laws and regulations. ICAP may rely on the EDGAR system of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or other third parties to create and retain the second and third records referred to above.

 

Review of Policy

 

The Manager shall review and approve such changes to these policies and procedures as the Manager deems necessary from time to time.

 


Further Information

 

Any questions with regard to the applicability of the provisions of these Procedures should be referred to our Chief Compliance Officer or in the absence of the Chief Compliance Officer, to the Alternate Compliance Officer.

 

Amendments

 

Amendments and revisions, if any, to these Procedures must be reviewed and approved by the Manager.

 

Adopted: November 30, 2004

 

 

 


PART C

 

FORM N-1A

OTHER INFORMATION

 

ITEM 28.

Exhibits.

 

(a)(1)

Certificate of Trust.1

 

(a)(2)

Agreement and Declaration of Trust.2

 

(a)(3)

Amended Schedule A to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust.5

 

(b)(1)

Bylaws.2

 

(b)(2)

Amendment, dated September 22, 2009, to Bylaws.7

 

(c)

Certificates for shares are not issued. Provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust define the rights of holders of shares of the Trust.2

 

(d)(1)

Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Golub Group, LLC. 3

 

(d)(2)

Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and TEAM Financial Asset Management, LLC 6

 

(d)(3)

Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Long/Short Advisors, LLC 8

 

(d)(4)

Investment Subadvisory Agreement between Long/Short Advisors, LLC and Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC 8

 

(e)

Form of Distribution Agreement between the Trust and Unified Financial Securities, Inc.4

 

(f)

Not applicable.

 

(g)(1)

Custody Agreement between the Trust and Huntington National Bank.2

 

(g)(2)

Amended Appendix B to the Custody Agreement between the Trust and Huntington National Bank.5

 

(h)(1)

Mutual Fund Services Agreement between the Trust and Unified Fund Services, Inc.2

 

(h)(2)

Amended Exhibit A to the Mutual Fund Services Agreement between the Trust and Unified Fund Services, Inc.5

 

(h)(3)

Expense Limitation Agreement between the Trust and Long/Short Advisors, LLC.8

 

(h)(4)

Expense Limitation Agreement between the Trust and Golub Group, LLC. 3

 

(h)(5)

Expense Limitation Agreement between the Trust and TEAM Financial Asset Management, LLC 6

 

(i)(1)

Opinion and Consent of Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, Legal Counsel, with respect to Golub Group Equity Fund. 3

 


(i)(2)

Opinion and Consent of Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, Legal Counsel, with respect to TEAM Asset Strategy Fund. 5

 

(i)(3)

Opinion and Consent of Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, Legal Counsel, with respect to LS Opportunity Fund.8

 

(j)(1)

Consent of BBD, LLP, Independent Public Accountants, with respect to Golub Group Equity Fund.3

 

(j)(2)

Consent of BBD, LLP, Independent Public Accountants, with respect to TEAM Asset Strategy Fund.6

 

(j)(3)

Consent of BBD, LLP, Independent Public Accountants, with respect to LS Opportunity Fund.7

 

(j)(4)

Consent of Ashland Partners & Company, LLP, with respect to Golub Group Equity Fund.3

 

(j)(5)

Consent of Ashland Partners & Company, LLP, with respect to TEAM Asset Strategy Fund.6

 

(k)

Not applicable.

 

(l)

Initial Capital Agreement.2

 

(m)(1)

Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for Golub Group Equity Fund.3

 

(m)(2)              Distribution Plan under Rule 12b-1 for TEAM Asset Strategy Fund.5 (n)(1)Reserved.

 

(o)

Reserved.

 

(p)(1)

Code of Ethics for the Trust.2

 

(p)(2)

Code of Ethics for Golub Group, LLC.3

 

(p)(3)               Code of Ethics for TEAM Financial Asset Management, LLC 5 (p)(4)Code of Ethics for Long/Short Advisors, LLC 8

 

(p)(5)

Code of Ethics for Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC8

 

(p)(6)

Code of Ethics for Unified Financial Services, Inc.2

 

(q)

Powers of Attorney.2, 7

 

-----------------------

 

1.

Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed June 16, 2008 (File No. 811-22208).

2.

Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 filed October 6, 2008 (File No. 811-22208).

3.

Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 filed March 10, 2009 (File No. 811-22208).

4.

Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 10 filed July 6, 2009 (File No. 811-22208).

 


5.

Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 filed September 24, 2009 (File No. 811-22208).

 

6.

Incorporated by reference to Registrant's Post-Effective Amendment No. 12 filed December 9, 2009 (File No. 811-22200).

7.

Filed herewith.

8.

To be filed.

 

ITEM 29.

Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant.

 

No person is controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.

 

ITEM 30.

Indemnification.  

 

Reference is made to the Registrant's Declaration of Trust, which is filed herewith. The following is a summary of certain indemnification provisions therein.

 

A person who is or was a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant, or is or was serving at the request of the Trustees as a director, trustee, partner, officer, employee or agent of a corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture or other enterprise shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, as such may be amended from time to time, the Registrant’s Bylaws and other applicable law. In case any shareholder or former shareholder of the Registrant shall be held to be personally liable solely by reason of his being or having been a shareholder of the Registrant or any series or class of the Registrant and not because of his acts or omissions or for some other reason, the shareholder or former shareholder (or his heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives, or, in the case of a corporation or other entity, its corporate or general successor) shall be entitled, out of the assets belonging to the applicable series (or allocable to the applicable class), to be held harmless from and indemnified against all loss and expense arising from such liability in accordance with the Registrant’s Bylaws and applicable law.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defenses of any action, suite or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

ITEM 31.

Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser.  

 

See the Prospectuses section entitled “Management of the Fund–Adviser” and the Statement of Additional Information section entitled “Investment Adviser” for the activities and affiliations of the officers and directors of the investment advisers of the Registrant (the “Advisers”). Except as so provided, to the knowledge of Registrant, none of the directors or executive officers of the Advisers is or has been at any time during the past two fiscal years engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature.

 


The Advisers currently serve as investment advisers to other institutional and individual clients.

 

ITEM 32.

Principal Underwriters.

 

 

(a)

 Unified Financial Securities, Inc. also serves as a principal underwriter for the following investment companies: American Pension Investors Trust, Appleton Funds, Dividend Growth Trust, Dreman Contrarian Funds, Hirtle Callaghan Trust, Huntington Funds, James Advantage Funds, RiverNorth Funds, The Penn Street Fund, Inc. and Unified Series Trust.

 

(b) The directors and officers of Unified Financial Securities, Inc. are as follows:

 

Name

Title

Position with Trust

Daniel B. Benhase*

Director

None

Melissa K. Gallagher**

President and Treasurer

None

John C. Swhear**

 

 

Edward J. Kane*

A. Dawn Story*

Chief Compliance Officer 

 

 

Vice President

Vice President

Vice President and

Chief Compliance

Officer

None

None

Anna Maria Spurgin**

Assistant Vice President

None

Karyn E. Cunningham**

Richard A. Cheap*

Larry D. Case*

Controller

Secretary

Assistant Secretary

None

None

None

 

 

 

*

The principal business address of these individuals is 41 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215

** The principal business address of these individuals is 2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208

 

(c) Not Applicable.

 

ITEM 33.

Location Of Accounts And Records.

 

The accounts, books or other documents of the Registrant required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are kept in several locations:

 

 

(a)

Huntington National Bank, 41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (records relating to its functions as custodian for the Fund).

 

 

(b)

IndexEdge Investment Consulting, LLC, 650 Poydras Street, Suite 1400, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to IndexEdge® Long-Term Portfolio Fund – terminated fund on December 9, 2009).

 

 

(c)

Golub Group, LLC, 2929 Campus Drive, Suite 145, San Mateo, CA 94403 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to Golub Group Equity Fund).

 

 

(d)

Cobalt Management Group, LLC, 1442 Market Street, Suite 200, Denver, Colorado 80202 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to Arrowhead Money Market Fund – terminated fund on January 27, 2010).

 


 

(e)

TEAM Financial Asset Management, LLC, 800 Corporate Circle, Suite 106, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to TEAM Asset Strategy Fund).

 

 

(f)

Long/Short Advisors, LLC, 1818 Market Street, Suite 3323, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to LS Opportunity Fund).

 

 

(g)

Independence Capital Asset Partners, LLC, 1400 16th Street, Suite 520, Denver, Colorado 80202 (records relating to its function as investment sub-adviser to LS Opportunity Fund).

 

 

(h)

Unified Financial Securities, Inc., 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 (records relating to its function as distributor to the Fund).

 

 

(i)

Unified Fund Services, Inc., 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 (records relating to its function as transfer agent, fund accountant, and administrator for the Fund).

 

ITEM 34.

Management Services.

 

Not Applicable.

 

ITEM 35.

Undertakings.

 

Not Applicable.

 


SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 13 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Indianapolis, and State of Indiana on this 5th day of March, 2010. VALUED ADVISERS TRUST

 

 

 

By: /s/ R. Jeffrey Young

 

R. Jeffrey Young, President

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

 

____________________*_____________________

March 10, 2010

Dr. Merwyn Vanderlind, Trustee            Date

____________________*_____________________

March 10, 2010

William J. Murphy, Treasurer and Principal

Date

Financial Officer

 

________________________________________________________________

 

* By: /s/ Carol J. Highsmith

March 10, 2010

Carol J. Highsmith, Vice President, Attorney in Fact

Date

 

 

 


INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

(FOR REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 AND THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940)

------------------------------------------------------------

EXHIBIT NO.

UNDER PART C

OF FORM N-1A

NAME OF EXHIBIT

--------------------

--------------------------

 

(b)(2)

Amendment, dated September 22, 2009, to Bylaws.

 

(j)(3)

Consent of BBD, LLP, Independent Public Accountants, with respect to LS Opportunity Fund.

 

(q)

Power of Attorney